What it takes to be Hokage
by Solara Myles
Summary: Naruto has always wanted to be the Hokage but does he really understand what it means to wear the Hokage's hat? Who better to teach him than the First Hokage himself! Only, he's not the Hokage yet, he hasn't even built Konoha . . . or discovered his Wood Style. Gen fic. Madara:Naruto:Hashirama.
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own Naruto. Updates will not be consistent.**

**23/06/2013 Edit: Beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow**

**Pairings: Well so far it's Mito and Hashirama.**

**Naruto has always wanted to be the Hokage but does he really understand what it means to wear the Hokage's hat? Who better to teach him than the First Hokage himself! Only, he's not the Hokage yet, he hasn't even built Konoha . . . or discovered his Wood Style.**

**What it takes to be Hokage**

**Prologue **

"Madara . . . what have you done?" Naruto whispered to himself, knees going weak as he realised just what was happening. "What happened to our dream? What happened to everything we were working towards? Hashirama, me and you. We worked so hard only for you to go and do this? Why?"

"Naruto-kun?" Minato asked, his tone conveying his concern. "Do you know what this is?"

Naruto schooled his features. Yes, he knew exactly what it was because he, roughly sixty years ago, had been the one to put it there. Instead of saying so, he turned to his Otou-san, a man that shouldn't be alive just as Naruto shouldn't be there at all, and replied, "No. I don't but whatever it was, someone didn't want it getting out, and probably for a very good reason."

A very, very good reason. After all, a tailed beast was nothing to laugh at.

**Chapter 1**

Naruto grumbled under his breath as he walked out of the Hokage's office. Well, what was left of the Hokage's office . . . Which wasn't actually anything at all.

Letting go of the tent flap Naruto glared at the semi-self-appointed Sixth Hokage. How he hated this man. This, this . . . _Danzo_.

Who the hell did he think he was?! Making Sasuke a missing nin. Well he'd just have to be acquainted with Uzumaki Naruto that was for sure. But for now, Naruto would just have to retreat and strike later, when he had a better opportunity. Something about this Danzo made him want to shiver with distaste. He was a creep, that was for sure, and not the friendly kind like ero-sennin and Kakashi-sensei. And he had the nerve to threaten Naruto. Naruto would never become his weapon. Never!

He was also arrogant. He'd placed his stupid tent exactly where the Hokage's tower should have been, with his stupid ROOT guarding it from all sides. Well on second thought, Naruto just might have done that too.

Grumbling more to himself, Naruto kicked a rock, sending it tumbling over the ground before smacking into the pile of rubble that was _supposed _to be the Hokage tower and causing a small rubble avalanche to crash to the ground. Since the ROOT members were wearing masks, Naruto couldn't be certain, but he was pretty damn sure that they were glaring at him.

Weren't those morons supposed to be emotionless? Who the hell even cares?!

Naruto sighed heavily as he walked over to the rubble he'd caused to fall over. All of his anger dissipated at the sight of the rubble. It was such a heart wrenching sight, his home lying in nothing but piles of rubble. If only he'd gotten here moments before. He might have been able to do something, anything really.

The blond sighed as he stared at the mess that was his village. So much work stood before him but like his Otou-san had said, the village could always be rebuilt; it was the people that made the village what it was.

Naruto blinked at the wooden cylinder he spotted poking out from under a particularly large piece of rubble. That was odd. Glancing behind him at the ROOT members, Naruto conceded that they were ignoring him and proceeded to carefully pull the cylinder out.

It looked like it was the same size as a normal scroll and a little banged up, but that was to be expected considering where he found it. Glancing at the ROOT again, Naruto decided not to chance it and tucked it away in his pocket, the same one that held the tiny shattered shards of the First Hokage's necklace. The shards that he'd painstakingly searched for and gathered. It actually helped that he'd been fighting Pein at the time, and had been standing still when it had shattered. It meant that the shards were all in the same sort of area. Sort of.

However, the moment the wooden cylinder touched the blue crystal Naruto blacked out, not even entirely sure why his head was hitting the floor in the first place.

.0.0.0.

Staring at the water was something he did often, pondering it's near endless flow much like he pondered the state of his life and those of his family. What was it about the water that enchanted him so much? He could never be sure, the fascination was simply there.

Lifting the hand that held the flat stone, Senju Hashirama was about to skip it across the water when a falling body made him freeze. The odd phenomenon made a rather large splash as it fell into the water.

Where had he come from? Glancing up at the sky, Hashirama had to conclude that there were no tree branches he could have fallen off of. Yet there he was, floating in the water and beginning to sink. Wait, sink? Dead bodies didn't usually sink.

Dashing out onto the water, Hashirama quickly checked the person's vitals. He was surprised to find that this one was alive, even if that was only just barely. Mostly, every time he saw a person floating in this river, he checked their vitals and which clan they belonged to. Every time though, they were dead . . . but not this one.

Without thought to whether he was an enemy or not, Hashirama pulled the boy from the water and dragged him onto the bank he'd just been sitting on. Looking at him critically, Hashirama concluded that the boy looked to be around his age, perhaps younger, perhaps older. But only slightly so either way.

"Is that a live one?"

Hashirama looked up in surprise, cursing himself silently for having been caught unaware by the other. "Yeah, help me move him somewhere safe, Madara."

"Why? He could be an enemy." Madara replied, looking at the unconscious boy with suspicion.

"We can't just leave him. Besides I've never seen anything like what he's wearing from around here before. We might learn something from him." Hashirama replied simply, pulling one of the boy's arms up and draping it over his own shoulders. He could have easily done it by himself but enjoyed making Madara do unnecessary work.

Madara's gaze took in the headband with the shiny metal plate on the blonde's forehead and without a word moved to take the boy's other arm.

"His clothes are odd." Hashirama mused glancing at the boy's attire from the corner of his eyes.

"Says the one with the flower pot hair style and the billowing curtain pants." Madara snorted.

Hashirama sent him a withering look before glancing around at their surrounds and guiding them to a small cave that was in this part of the woods. They set the boy down carefully, each one studying him for a moment.

"He appears to be a ninja. He has the tools." Madara supplied, pulling out a shuriken from the pouch and studying it carefully before replacing it. "It has some odd qualities to it though. It's nothing like what we have. This is better, smoother. Looks like it will be more accurate in battle."

"But I don't think he was injured in battle. He doesn't have any wounds or even any of the usual signs on his clothing." Hashirama muttered, adding his own thoughts to the brainstorming session.

"What do you make of his headband?" Madara asked quietly, "Other than that, I do not see anything else that would establish which clan he's from."

"No, he does have a clan marking. Here on his shoulder. I think that's an Uzumaki symbol but I've never seen it worn like that nor have I seen them wear these kinds of clothes. As for the headband, it's not uncommon for ninja to wear something on their foreheads. I've just never seen that before." Hashirama replied thoughtfully.

Madara frowned before checking the boy's pulse himself. Hashirama didn't like the colour the kid was turning. "I've seen this before. It's a rare form of chakra exhaustion. He might not make it. He's barely hanging on as it is." Madara muttered, eyebrows furrowing together in anger.

"I get the feeling that he's going to be just fine. He looks like a fighter to me. But I guess that means we're going to have to take care of him, right?" Hashirama mused.

"Probably. This form of chakra exhaustion is going to leave him weak and helpless for weeks if not a month or two."

"That's terrible. He won't even be able to defend himself!" Hashirama exclaimed.

"Relax. If we set up some good traps and place a few good genjutsus around here, no one will even find him." Madara reminded the other ninja with a shake of his head.

"Are you sure you know strong enough ones?"

Madara almost snapped that his clan specialised in genjutsu, among other things but that was against the rules. It would give away his family name. "Yeah well, the best we can do is try. I'm not even sure it's the best idea."

"Of course it is! He needs help." Hashirama argued back childishly.

"And if he's an enemy?" Madara challenged with a raised brow.

"If he's an enemy then he's a very poor one at that. He couldn't even swat a fly right now, let alone kill us."

"I suppose . . . Do you have any food on you at the moment?" Madara conceded.

Hashirama looked around on his person before pulling out a wrapped piece of bread. "Will that work?"

"If we soak it in water, then yes." Madara took the offered bread and propped the chakra exhausted teen up so that he was leaning against the wall. Hashirama had never seen such a severely chakra depleted Shinobi and as such, didn't fully know how to treat one. So all he could really do was provide Madara with the things he needed to care for the boy.

When Madara was done, Hashirama felt a sense of uselessness. If what the other had said earlier was true then he needed to learn how to care of this person and quickly. After all neither of them could come every day.

"Madara, could you tell me more about how to care for a chakra depleted person? You can't come every day and neither can I so we'll need to alternate. But I've never had to care for someone so helpless before." Hashirama asked quietly, staring almost blankly at the oddly dressed Shinobi that had literally fallen into their care. He'd seen people this helpless, but they never lasted long enough to be cared for. He lived in an era of war, so it was to be expected. He felt that he should know how to care for these Shinobi but he was ashamed to say he didn't.

"It's simple actually. You should work on your medical skills then. The point is to make sure they don't die." Madara replied and Hashirama glared at his non-answer but he took the advice to heart. He _would_ work on his medical skills. After all, there would always be those in need of healing.

"We should leave. It's getting late. I won't be able to come tomorrow." Madara stated with a sigh, looking outside to the sky and the near setting sun.

"Do you think he'll be warm enough?" Hashirama bit his lip.

"Bring him a blanket tomorrow." Madara waved over his shoulder dismissively as he walked out of the cave already readying his chakra to perform some of the genjutsus. "And give me some of your chakra so that I can key it into the genjutsu."

Hashirama gave the sleeping teen one last look, taking in the whisker marks, the bright blond hair and shiny headband before nodding to himself and following Madara outside the cave and helping him set up the traps before heading back to the river. As each one stood facing the other on opposite sides, they skipped a stone to each other, catching it and pocketing it. With a small wave they were both simply gone as only Shinobi could.

.0.0.0.

Hashirama dashed through the trees awkwardly with his pilfered blanket and pillow. He giggled to himself as he made his way to the river, trying to get there without being followed. This was actually really exciting and fun. Something that he hadn't had much of lately.

He noticed that his younger brother had seen him take the stuff in the early hours of the morning but had said nothing. Tobirama was strange that way. Sometimes he would throw you over the coals and other times he'd leave you be with nothing more than a stern look of disapproval and in this case slight curiosity.

Skipping over the river easily, Hashirama didn't stop but rather kept going right into the trees on the other side. This time, he ran without making a sound and he was careful to watch out for enemies. He couldn't afford to have his new charge spotted. The blond teen could hardly defend himself after all and since Hashirama couldn't stay for very long at the moment he couldn't defend the teen either.

It was some ungodly hour in the morning when not even his Otou-san had been up by the time he'd left. Hashirama's plan had been to return just before he usually woke up so that no one missed him. A small part of his brain contemplated devising a way to let Madara know that he'd been here and vice versa. He'd think a little on it later and then discuss it with Madara when they saw each other again.

Landing in front of the cave, Hashirama looked around quickly before disappearing into the semi-dark cave and noticed immediately that the boy hadn't even moved from the propped up position he'd been in yesterday. How uncomfortable.

He'd also managed to remember to bring some food and had brought some soup. He felt proud that he had thought of something that was both nutritious and edible for the helpless blond.

Mimicking Madara's actions yesterday, Hashirama managed to get some more food into the teen for the time being. Who would come tomorrow? Madara had only mentioned that he couldn't come today. So what about the next day and the day after that? Hashirama couldn't come all the time, same as Madara.

Carefully he placed the pillow on a flat piece of ground before moving the teen onto it, shuddering at how icy the teen felt. He should've brought the blanket last night but night time was the most dangerous time to be lurking about in the woods. If you weren't careful, your own clansmen were likely to kill you because they mistook you for a spy.

Hashirama didn't feel like being skewered due to stupidity, it didn't have a nice ring to it and knowing his Otou-san, the stuck up bastard would have that put on his headstone.

Tucking the thick blanket around the teen was really all he could do for now. He had to get back. At least the guy had a bit more colour to his cheeks.

.0.0.0.

He managed to reach the door to his room when his Otou-san barked out his name. Uh oh. Did Tobirama tell on him after all?

Turning to face his approaching Otou-san, Hashirama bowed respectfully in greeting. "Otou-san."

"Where were you? I called for you five minutes ago but your brother said you weren't there." His Otou-san demanded in reply.

"Uhm I had to go." Hashirama replied simply.

"Go? Go where?"

"You know, _go_." Hashirama emphasised the last word, using the tone that only meant one thing. Toilet breaks.

"Uh . . . right." His father's cheek looked a little less pale than usual, and his eyes flickered to the side slightly before he turned a stern gaze back to Hashirama. "Anyways, I want you presentable and in the meeting room in five minutes. Understood?"

Hashirama nodded, not saying a word. His Otou-san appeared to be in one of those moods today; one of those moods where one wrong move could earn you a swift, painful blow for your troubles. Kami help you if you tried to dodge it like any true Shinobi would . . . and Kami forbid you didn't try to dodge it. Either way it pissed the man off so Hashirama usually settled for one of each. He allowed the first one to hit but after that he dodged like his life depended on it, which it probably did when he got his father into one of his especially foul moods.

Making himself presentable was a moot point since he'd been dressed for hours already. All he really had to do was brush his teeth so he grabbed some clean sand from the cup in his room and rubbed it around in his mouth and over his teeth before spitting it and rinsing out his mouth with water.

As Hashirama hurried to his Otou-san's meeting room he was met with curt bows and greetings. As the son of the clan head it was expected of him to be at his best at all times. So he had to return every one of those greetings.

"Better hurry or you'll be late." Tobirama warned from his place in a shadowy corner, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched with a slightly amused expression on his almost childlike features, but that boy had always been far too serious and really who could blame him?

Hashirama skidded to a stop outside the room and took a moment to catch his breath and straighten his hair.

Then he bowed his head before carefully pulling open the door and entering, keeping his head low at all times. He'd already been barefoot so he didn't need to remove his shoes.

"Step forward, Hashirama and raise your head." His Otou-san barked impatiently.

Doing as he was told, Hashirama was greeted with the sight of four other people, his Otou-san, the clan head of the Uzumaki, another female member of the Uzumaki and a young girl, also sporting the Uzumaki clan symbol. Immediately he wondered if there were any blond Uzumakis and if this girl would know but decided against asking it right now since that would be admitting to his Otou-san that he was harbouring a potential enemy in a cave in the woods and caring for said potential enemy.

Yeah, that wouldn't go over very well.

"I'm going to get straight to the point, Hashirama. As you know the life expectancy of a Shinobi is very low and for children of Shinobi even less so." His Otou-san began and Hashirama grit his teeth to stop himself from replying to that statement. He and his Otou-san still fought about that topic rather passionately.

"As such it has been arranged that you and Uzumaki Mito," Here his Otou-san paused to gesture at the young red haired girl, "Are to be joined together in marriage once she has had her first blood."

Hashirama couldn't stop the un-Shinobi like blush from spreading across his face at those very gruffly stated words. Uzumaki Mito huh. Looking at the girl with more attention than before Hashirama saw a certain whisper of womanish beauty, a regal proudness and strength just peeking through the childlike adolescence.

He knew better than to argue. Arranged marriages were not uncommon as it helped form alliances and as the son of the head of the clan, he had expected it. Just not so soon. They also helped with the whole life expectancy thing. Shinobi always married young, and usually only the men became ninja. The female ninja, the kunoichi, were few and far between. Yet the Uzumaki seemed to let their females study their famed sealing arts to their heart's content. Made sense. However, just because females were not active Shinobi, it did not mean they couldn't kick your ass six ways from Sunday.

Women were scary, enough said.

Mito was silent, staring at the floor as she waited for some sort of reaction from the _boy_ that was to be her husband. His curious gaze was starting to annoy her as well as make her uncomfortable. Couldn't he say something already?

"Well, I always thought the red hair of the Uzumaki clan was beautiful." Hashirama grinned, his eyes lighting up with a youthful amusement that was rare in their war torn state of existence. "Pleased to meet you, Lady Mito. Senju Hashirama at your service. Wow, look at that. I actually got to say my full name." Hashirama's charm was hard to ignore and Mito smiled despite herself.

Her mother had told her that this was a serious affair and should be treated as such. Yet, this boy made it very hard to act accordingly. In fact, if Mito were honest with herself, she would admit that his hairstyle and fashion sense needed some work, since it currently was making it very hard to take him, and anything he said, very seriously.

"While you're here, Hashirama, I have a new mission for you. Try not to die." His Otou-san interrupted, reaching to grab a scroll that he'd set aside. "I'd hate for all this to be for nothing." He added under his breath and Hashirama was only half certain he was somewhat joking.

For the first time since entering the room Hashirama's composure faltered. His eyes flashed in anger as his smile melted from his features, replaced by the blank seriousness of a Shinobi with his clan head, no longer the son and the Otou-san.

"It's expected that you'll be gone for about a week." His Otou-san began and for a brief moment panic flared to life on those blank features. A panic that was not lost on his Otou-san who paused in his explanation of the mission, "Is something wrong with that?"

"Uhm, I was working on a new jutsu. Something that's really quite amazing if I can master it and I felt like I was getting close . . . that's all." Hashirama supplied lamely. He couldn't very well say that he had a chakra exhausted Shinobi to tend to. He needed to somehow let Madara know that he wasn't going to be back for a whole week.

"A new jutsu? If you should complete it, what would its capabilities be?" His Otou-san asked, a small flicker of interest in his gaze. There was hardly time to learn jutsus passed down from family members. Time was something they spent fighting other clans, hardly training. Creating a jutsu was another matter entirely.

Ah crap. He'd lied about the jutsu, sort of._ Come on Hashirama think! There were always ideas floating around in your head, find one of them and use it. _

"Well I was trying to combine water style and earth style to see what it would create." Hashirama explained, puffing out his chest and making his tone secretive and awe-inspiring to add a sense of mystery to his sort of lie.

"But that's like a collaboration jutsu." His Otou-san argued almost sounding dismissive and definitely disappointed.

"No, no. Not like a collaboration jutsu. When two people collaborate a jutsu, one can still see the two separate elements. What I want is to combine the two on my own, without the help of a second Shinobi and to mix them together so thoroughly that it creates something new, something with the flexibility and agility of water yet the strength of the earth." Hashirama explained getting into the mood of this little white lie. It was a fascinating concept and if he achieved it, then the possibilities were endless.

"It's a nice fantasy Hashirama but in times such as these, it's one I cannot allow you to entertain. As it is you're far too inexperienced, too unpractised, to have the control over the two chakra natures needed to achieve this feat. It's time you grew up. Here is your mission. I expect you to leave tomorrow morning." His Otou-san replied yet there was genuine sadness and regret in his tone. Hashirama knew that his Otou-san wished for him to have the life of child but knew that he was a Shinobi and as such he'd have to live as one.

"Yes, Otou-san." Hashirama replied with a slight bow.

Mentally he began to calculate a way to let Madara know that he wasn't going to be returning for a week. Perhaps he would be able to incorporate it into the genjutsu traps. Quickly checking the mission parameters written down in the scroll, he noted with luck that it was in the same direction as the river so he wouldn't be going out of his way to leave the message.

"You may use today to acquaint yourself with Uzumaki Mito, or were you planning on leaving again?" There was a hint of a challenge in Hashimara's Otou-san's tone.

"Only a little later." Hashirama replied, his tone quiet. He couldn't afford to anger his Otou-san right now.

"I see. Well you two are dismissed. There are a few things I still need to discuss with the clan head of the Uzumaki." Hashirama bowed once again and Mito stood, bowing as well.

Both of them walked out the door, keeping their heads low. When they were outside however, Hashirama allowed his true feelings to dominate his features. There was most definitely anger, yet there was concern as well.

Mito glanced at him, her eyes taking in his dark expression before she quickly glanced away, biting on her lower lip.

"Is something the matter Lady Mito?" Hashirama asked, the anger melting from his face as he did so. "And I don't mind if you speak freely with me, I prefer it."

Mito hesitated before sighing and looking at the young Senju once again. "Are you truly happy with our impending union?"

Hashirama laughed. "You don't have to be so formal. I know the Uzumaki are not famed for their conserved manner and the effort must be taxing. But otherwise, yes. I'd say I'm happy with our 'impending union'. There's not much to be sad about really. Are you happy?"

"Are you kidding? I get to marry a Senju and not just any Senju, the son of the clan head. Of course I'm happy." Mito exclaimed, her eyes growing large with excitement.

"You know I'd hate to think that you're only marrying me for my titles." Hashirama said with a slight frown but his eyes sparkled mischievously. Mito, however, did not see this and as a result her excitement changed to alarm and she stuttered out as quickly as she could "No, no. That's not what I meant. Not at all. It's just that ever since I can remember the Senju have been hailed as one of the greatest clans in the Elemental Nations, rivalled only by the Uchiha. I guess I'm just a little awed."

"Don't worry. I understand. And the Uzumaki aren't push-overs either. I hear you guys get really down and dirty when you need to." Hashirama smiled softly, not really comfortable talking about a glory he felt was underserved simply because it was won through the means of war. "Hey, are you allowed to leave the compound?" Hashirama asked excitedly and suddenly, causing Mito to jump.

"I-I'm not sure." Mito replied with a frown.

"Well come on. You're with me so you'll be fine." Hashirama grabbed her hand causing her to squeak in surprise and began to pull her towards the trees. They were only able to get past three trees before a familiar voice spoke from behind the tree next to them as they passed.

"It is my recommendation, brother, that you do not leave today. Especially not with Lady Mito."

Tobirama was leaning against the tree, his eyes watching the floor as he spoke and his arms crossed over his chest. Ah, always so serious. "What's the matter little brother, you're gloomier than usual today?" Hashirama teased, tempted to ruffle the younger Senju's hair but deciding against it.

"No, I'm just more realistic than you. Neither Otou-san nor the Uzumaki clan Head will appreciate you taking his daughter outside the confines of the Senju compound's safety." Tobirama stated, lifting his gaze so that it was now on Mito.

"Alright then, you have a point. Walk back with us?" Hashirama conceded with a grin.

In reply Tobirama held up a scroll and Hashirama's grin faded into anguish. _"Be safe."_

It's what he wanted to say but he didn't. He was a Shinobi and a Shinobi did not concern themselves with the safety of others. Or, that's what they were supposed to be like. Hashirama however huffed at his younger brother and said arrogantly. "If you don't come back from that one alive, I'm going to bury you in nothing but your underpants and I'll tell everyone about it."

"You're such a child." Tobirama snapped but there was a small smile quirking the corners of his lips. Mito couldn't help but secretly agree with the younger Senju.

.0.0.0.

Naruto felt like he was heavy. Too heavy to move and far too heavy to even care. He was very, very dimly aware of the world around him, but that awareness was hardly anything at all. He couldn't even tell if he was lying down or sitting up. He couldn't tell if he hungry or thirsty.

Something at the edges of his awareness wanted to be acknowledged but he couldn't focus on it, he couldn't focus on anything. All there was in his little world was the steady _ba-bump, ba-bump, ba-bump_ of his own heart beat and his shallow yet rhythmic breaths.

It was enough to make him fall asleep once again.

.0.0.0.

"Finally!"

Hashirama panted as he entered the cave. He'd pushed himself on that last mission and had managed to finish it before the allocated time which was an achievement in itself. Usually they didn't give you _enough_ time.

"Sorry Madara. That mission was brutal. Just give me a second." Hashirama gasped out.

"It's hard to believe that you can equal me in taijutsu." Madara shook his head. "Anyways. His pulse has gotten stronger and he's hanging in there. I think you're right. He is a fighter. Oh and I'm running out of excuses to come out here."

"Just tell them you're working on a new ultra secret jutsu." Hashirama offered. "And I just had to run away from an entire clan trying to kill me. Give me a break will ya?"

"Your jutsu suggestion requires for me to actually have an adequate jutsu to present upon completion." Madara growled with a childish pout. "And it sure as hell better be adequate or it's my ass."

"Hey, you got it easy. You'd just have to say jutsu. Now me on the other hand. I told my Otou-san I was working on a one man collaboration jutsu. That's going to take more skill than what I currently have." Hashirama pouted back.

"You're the one that told him. Besides, didn't we agree to work on our weak points? This is good motivation. There's a big enough clearing outside the cave." Madara shrugged.

"And you're ohkay with practising this together?" Hashirama asked, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion.

Madara was silent for a long time as he thought it over. As he did so he glared at the ground as though it held the secrets of his problems. When he looked up, his gaze was hesitant and confused but determined. "I trust you. However, don't ever let that trust be misplaced because you will regret it."

Hashirama blinked before a grin broke onto his features. "Oh Madara-kun, it's such a happy day! You do have a heart after all. Rejoice in all miracles." He said happily in a sing song tone.

Madara promptly smacked him on the head with a firm and satisfied, "Idiot." But there was a note of fondness in that tone as well. Hashirama just laughed and wrapped an arm around Madara's neck, yanking him closer. "Hey!" Madara spluttered in protest but his wiggles lacked conviction.

"Oh before I forget." Hashirama stated suddenly and looking down at the pouting face of his friend, the usually spikey black locks in even more disarray due to his position. "We need to think of a way to let each other know that we've been here. So for the times when we're too busy to come, we'll at least know if one of us was here . . . or something like that at least."

Hashirama let go of Madara when his pout changed to a thoughtful look. Madara drew a kunai and picked up two flat rocks. He then scratched something into both of them before turning them over to face Hashirama. "How's this? We'll put these over there by the entrance and if you've been here you turn it over to the side with your name. Then I'll come and see it and I'll know that you've been here and I'll turn it over to the blank side and turn mine over to show my name." Madara suggested.

Hashirama was silent as he took in the stones. His expression turned very sad as his aura radiated despondency and self-doom. "Madara-kun." He whispered in a deathly depressed tone to which Madara's eyebrow twitched. "You spelt my name wrong."

"Idiot." Madara yelled, trying to hit Hashirama once again but the other ducked out the way with a laugh. "You know for someone who just got back from a mission you have way too much energy." He added thoughtfully as he walked over to the entrance to place the stones, blank side up, on the floor.

"Yeah well. I'm just happy to be back." Hashirama sighed before sitting down next to the blond Shinobi. There were so many things he wanted to tell Madara. Like his arranged marriage to Lady Mito and the mission he'd just been on but he couldn't. It would go against their code as Shinobi. Instead he asked "How's he doing?"

"Like I said, there's improvement but I'm not sure how much. I'm not good at sensing." Madara replied with a shrug.

"It's only been a week so I suppose improvement is better than nothing. How long does it usually take for them to wake up?" Hashirama was watching the unconscious Shinobi thoughtfully. It would be a shame if they had to kill him because he was an enemy.

"Depends on the person really. I've seen some wake up after two weeks and others after two months. I haven't seen enough cases of this for it to actually have an average." Madara explained sitting down next to him.

"I can't imagine pushing myself so far that I exhaust my chakra like this. Have you ever done it?"

"No. I've never had the need to but I will if it means protecting my little brother." Madara's eyes darkened with determination and Hashirama found himself agreeing whole heartedly with the statement. Yes, he'd go that far if it meant protecting his younger brother.

.0.0.0.

It was about a week after he returned from the mission, with both he and Madara alternating visits to the cave that Hashirama returned to the cave to find Madara already there. He grinned cheekily as he approached as silently as he could.

"Long time no see Madara-kun." Hashirama yelled before pouncing on the other who rolled out the way purely on reflex. He turned to face Hashirama with an irritated scowl. "One day you're going to do that Hashirama and I'm going to end up skewering you with a kunai."

"Yeah, yeah spoil sport. Honestly, you'd think I was an idiot the way you go on sometimes. The day you can skewer me with a kunai is the day I deserve it for being so damn slow." Hashirama mocked with an air of playful arrogance.

"Just for that, you get to bathe Uzumaki over here." Madara scowled, using the nickname they'd taken to calling the other Shinobi since 'the ninja' or 'the unconscious Shinobi' just wasn't very specific.

"Bath?" Hashirama gulped. That was something they'd both totally forgotten about and it seemed that Madara had remembered, even making sure to bring a set of clothes for the helpless ninja.

"Yes, idiot, bath. It's been two weeks." Madara replied wrinkling his nose. "And who knows how long before that."

"And you brought him some clothes." Hashirama noted, tilting his head to the side and studying the plain black fabric that Madara had brought. It looked like a slightly larger version of the clothes he usually wore himself.

"Yes I did because if he had to wear the type of clothes you wear he'd die from the shame." Madara replied before lifting Uzumaki and pulling down the metal tab that held his jacket together.

"You know those links are really cool. I wonder where he got it from. It's ingenious." Hashirama chirped with a grin, choosing to ignore the comment about his clothes. Madara simply grunted his agreement as he pulled the once brightly coloured jacket off and tossed it at Hashirama's head. The boy was wearing a simple black shirt underneath and what looked like a chain link shirt.

Hashirama at this point was helping Madara, his fingers battling with the brown material of the headband. It was tied as tightly as it could possibly be tied, making removing it rather troublesome but the Senju managed and placed the object carefully with the rest of the Uzumaki's quickly growing clothing pile.

Soon they had the weapon pouches and the shoes removed as well, leaving the teen in nothing but his pants. The scars on his body spoke of a hard Shinobi life and both Hashirama and Madara knew the feeling. Was this teen a victim of these troubling times as well? He must be a good Shinobi to have survived so far.

With swift practised movements Madara removed the teen's pants, leaving him in his underwear. "You know, this guy has the strangest things on his clothes." Hashirama was fiddling with the elastic on Uzumaki's jacket.

"Yeah, yeah just help me out here." Madara said, waving a hand dismissively.

"Are we taking him to the river?" Hashirama asked, grabbing the extra set of clothes and the Uzumaki's own ones so that they could be washed while Madara lifted the Uzumaki.

"Yes. Unless you feel like practising your water style jutsus." Madara mused.

"Hay, that's not a bad idea but that'll get our training field wet." Hashirama pouted at the thought. For the past week they'd been alternating between taijutsu matches and ninjutsu practise. They'd already learnt about each other that Madara was exceptional at fire style related jutsus and Hashirama was adept at both water style and earth style. If Madara could use any other styles he had yet to display the ability to do so.

So to save them the trouble of a wet training field, the two trudged off to the river with Madara carrying the underwear clad unconscious Shinobi on his back and with Hashirama carrying the two sets of clothes in his arms.

"You know what, you'll be carrying him back to the cave because really I think you got off easy here." Madara complained.

"Aw but he looks so cute over there, drooling on your shoulder." Hashirama grinned in reply.

"He's drooling!" Madara yelled in alarm which only further amused the Senju.

"Relax!" Hashirama gasped between peals of laughter. "I was just kidding."

Once they made it to the river, Hashirama stepped out first to see if there was anyone around, careful to look in every possible place a person could be. His brother had often said he needed to work on his sensing and he agreed with the younger Senju whole heartedly.

Giving the all clear he signalled to Madara to come over and snickered the whole time Madara bathed their charge while he took care of the odd bright clothing. His water style jutsu got plenty of work that was for sure. The guy must have been doing some real heavy duty stuff before he fell into the river. Hashirama recognised it as the same sorts of stains and tiny rips that accompanied the men who built the houses. Was this guy building something? To his horror though, the orange clothing got even brighter the cleaner it got. How had he survived this long with something so eye burning? And Madara had the nerve to say _his_ sense of style was warped.

Madara on the other hand kept the boy's boxers firmly in place and he also took note that while the boy himself was small in stature his age was probably greater than their first estimation. His build and scaring suggested the dangerous life of a Shinobi, and a good one at that, as well as added to the age that Madara was slowly building in his mind. He'd say that Hashirama and himself were about twelve, thirteen maybe even fourteen. This teen was perhaps sixteen, seventeen and to a push eighteen. He'd have to wait for the teen to wake up and tell them to be sure.

So what had caused him to end up in this predicament?

Madara placed a hand on the boy's chest, trying to sense out any chakra to see how far he'd come since they'd found him. All he found was the tiny flicker that had only grown a tiny amount, almost unnoticeably so. Why was it taking so long? Did the teen even want to wake up at all?

Madara would understand completely if he didn't. Even Hashirama would.

"All done." Hashirama announced. "Now you can use your fire style to dry them. Just don't set them on fire kay!"

The Uchiha rolled his eyes at the over active Senju before grumbling "Hey, come help me get him dressed." And added under his breath "And it wouldn't exactly be a crime if I did set those hideous things on fire."

The two teens worked without talking to get the unconscious teen dry and into the clothes that Madara had brought. Both of them knew that this was a potentially dangerous thing to do but neither could truly find the energy to care. All they wanted was to help the teen.

.0.0.0.

Naruto could feel the coolness of the water, and it helped to wake him up some. He was more aware this time, if more aware meant he could feel the water, if only the slightest bit. It was nice, refreshing.

He managed to remember that he was supposed to be somewhere, he was supposed to be doing something but he couldn't remember the specifics. He had to wake up now but he couldn't, he just didn't have the energy, his body and mind automatically preferring sleep.

The water, no matter how cool, couldn't keep his attention for very long and he found himself slipping under yet again.

Still he kept waking up. Well waking up wasn't quite the right way to say it. Perhaps, becoming aware was better after all. Little things began to catch his attention too. All the little things he hadn't really noticed until he no longer had it, like the smallest twitch in his hands felt like something that was the greatest achievement in his life. Or the slight shift in his surroundings, the temperature or even the terrain.

He didn't hear anything at first but sounds came long before movement did. It wasn't anything distinguishable when it did come, just an in and out blur of noise that was both comforting and loud at the same time. Later, he began to pick out things like a bird's call, rushing water at times, and the sound of approaching footsteps. He didn't know why but those footsteps were something he looked forward to.

Then he began to notice that there were two different types of footsteps, one that was hurried and almost cheerful in a sense and another than was slow and measured, each step controlled. Yet both sets of footsteps were cautious. Both were the footsteps of Shinobi.

As Naruto began to grow more and more aware, one thing he found himself having far too much time of, was time to think. Things began to swirl in his mind, things he hadn't really thought about before, like Sasuke and Danzo-teme, Jiji and his Otou-san. His Otou-san had hoped for him to be a hero, the Sandaime hadn't said a word about his parents to him, only telling him that they died in the Kyuubi attack and there was no point in talking about the dead. He thought about Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan, the two vastly different kunoichi that they were and wondered what he truly felt about them now. He thought about a lot of things, about the villages, about ramen, a lot of ramen, his days at the Academy and the days spent with Jiraiya, Kakashi, Yamato and all the other Shinobi of Konoha. He even thought about his failures and why they were classified as such. Heck, his mind must have been really bored if Itachi crossed it on more than one occasion.

Mostly though, he found himself thinking about the Kyuubi and his hatred and he found himself leaning towards agreeing with the Kyuubi because being trapped, quite frankly, sucked. Was this helpless yet aware feeling what the Kyuubi had all the time? He could see everything around him, yet there was nothing he could do except sit within Naruto and brood. No wonder he was such a grouch.

Naruto just had too much time to think.

.0.0.0.

"Hey, Madara, should we move him into the sun? You know, cause he might be tired of the inside of the cave." Hashirama suggested. It had now been four weeks since finding the Shinobi and his chakra had grown some since then but not as much as the two would've liked.

Madara gave the once again orange clad Shinobi a glance before picking him up and placing him on the outside of the cave, directly in the sun.

"Sometimes Hashirama, I don't know what goes in in that bowl cut head of yours."

"So mean . . ."

"Whatever, now are we going to spar today or not?" Madara replied, crossing his arms and looking away. He really hated those snap depression things that idiot fell into.

"Hell yeah! Come at me with all you've got." Hashirama looked up, the cloud of doom dissipating as quickly as it had formed, a large grin on his face.

"As though I'd need to." Madara scoffed arrogantly. But the spikey haired boy grinned back all the same and pulled out a kunai, rushing towards the other at full speed.

.0.0.0.

Warm. Everything was warm. It was nice. The ground was also softer.

Naruto's hand shifted the tiniest amount but he still did not have the energy needed to really move. Thoughts were more coherent now, not too disjointed. Still, the blond was desperately wishing for some other company other than his own thoughts. He'd tried talking to Kyuubi but he couldn't focus his mind enough for that.

Instead, he found himself becoming strangely eager for the sounds of his two Shinobi caretakers. There was only ever the two, only ever the hurried yet happy one and the cautious and measured one. However, they were both rather attentive to him, as a Shinobi.

Naruto wondered who they were, and why the Leaf hadn't found him yet. He even wondered how he'd come to be here and wondered if Danzo had somehow made good on that promise to turn him into a weapon.

He listened to all the conversations he could but there was never any mention of Shinobi villages so he didn't even know whether he was with the enemy or with allies. It had to be allies though, since they were caring for him.

At the current moment, they were going through their daily spar. It was a routine of theirs, to train whenever they were together in the little clearing outside the cave and this was the first time Naruto was outside with them.

He was deeply curious about their skill and techniques. Today they seemed to be focusing on Taijutsu and by the sounds of it, it was a good spar and the urge to see the world around him only grew. Naruto was almost desperate to get out of this helplessness. He wasn't used to it and he hoped it ended soon. He seemed to be getting better though.

Slowly, he tried to open his eyes, managing only to open his lids so that a sliver of light hit his pupils, immediately burning them. But he could see and that made his spirits soar. Perhaps he wouldn't be so helpless for very much longer. Naruto couldn't wait for the day that he was able to at least talk to his two caretakers.

Best part about it was, he could tell that the two shared a special bond, just like he and Sasuke did.

.0.0.0.

Four weeks turned to six and with every passing day, Naruto felt better and the two Shinobi that cared for him grew stronger. They didn't much mind that in each case it was only a little bit each day, only a little, barely noticeable at all but the progress was there all the same.

The two weren't always together but one of them always came to care for the unconscious Shinobi, never missing a single day if they could help it. Naruto was learning how to sense things in ways he'd never thought possible, his growing chakra allowing him to sense further and further, till he could tell that oddly enough the two younger teens did not live together and in fact came from opposite directions.

They didn't always just train. Sometimes they would just talk, conversations that Naruto was only half aware of. But they seemed to enjoy their talks just as much as they enjoyed their spars.

Madara and Hashirama were beginning to grow tired of the same training ground, or perhaps they were growing restless for a new challenge. They spoke about it but grudgingly agreed that they would wait until the older teen was able to move.

So it was with some much anticipated excitement that they finally noticed fluttering eyelids half way into the sixth week.

"Madara! He looks like he's waking up." Hashirama yelled cheerfully to the boy who was still approaching the cave. He'd only just gotten there himself and had been about to move Uzumaki into the sun. He'd sensed Madara's approach when he'd landed in the clearing himself. He hadn't seen the other boy much this week and was glad that he was seeing him today.

Madara rushed into the cave, falling into a crouch next to Hashirama. He'd never admit it, but he was just as excited as Hashirama was. This was going to be great!

But a part of them was fearful. What if he was an enemy? What if after all the work they'd put in, they'd have to kill him anyway?

Naruto groaned so softly it was almost inaudible. His hand twitched and his eyelids fluttered. Slowly, he managed to lift them, noting that today there was no bright light to immediately assault his pupils.

Madara and Hashirama almost gasped at the brilliant blue. They'd never seen a colour like that before. They were so blue . . .

Everything was blurry, unfocused. He could hardly make out any shapes or colours. It was confusing yet exhilarating at the same time. He was finally making some progress, even if it was something as small as opening his eyes.

"Hey, can you talk?" A breathless voice asked, sounding way louder than what it probably was.

"W-w-wa-ter?"

Nearly seven weeks and that was the first word he'd managed to speak. Great going Naruto. The silence and the lack of people was killing him though. He was a social creature and needed the bonds he formed to keep him grounded. He hoped that wherever he was and whoever he was with, they were allies. He wasn't in any position to escape if they weren't.

"Oh, my bad." That same voice from before. A black and creamy coloured blob moved closer and something cold and wet was placed against his lips.

Naruto drank slowly, not want to choke. When he was finished he felt loads better and managed to give a small lopsided smile to the other ninja.

"Th-thanks."

"So what's your name?" A new voice asked calmly, reminding the blond a lot of Sasuke.

"Uzu-maki Na-ru-to. Who are you?" Each word, every syllable was stated slowly, with difficulty.

Hashirama looked to Madara, both of them surprised. The teen had given his full name? Perhaps he had hit his head after all.

"I am Madara, and he is Hashirama."

"Hehe, sounds familiar, like a history lesson I probably slept through." Naruto replied with a tired giggle.

"Huh?" Madara and Hashirama stated in unison. This guy was nuts!

"Konoha, that's where I'm from. It was founded by the Uchiha and the Senju. At the time the clan heads were Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama." Naruto explained, hearing the confusion more than seeing it in the blobs in front of him.

"Impossible. The Senju and the Uchiha are rivals. They'd never be the founders of anything, at least not together." Hashirama was shaking his head.

"But they did. They founded my village. Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. You must have heard of it. It's one of the Great Shinobi Nations." Naruto was frowning slightly now.

"There's no such thing as a ninja village." Hashirama replied sadly. He actually felt sorry for the teen. He'd clearly been hit by a jutsu that damaged the mind and there was no curing that. "There are only the clans and none of them work together unless it's mutually beneficial to them and it's never for long."

"Only clans? It hasn't been like that since the Era of the Warring States. It hasn't been like that for eighty years." Naruto was getting more than confused now.

Madara on the other hand grabbed Hashirama's shoulder, cutting off his reply. He dragged the boy outside the cave, eyes glaring at the ground when he finally did let go of the other.

"Tell me you aren't a Senju." Madara stated quietly.

"Madara?"

"Whoever that boy is, wherever he comes from, he knows who we are. Unless . . . tell me you aren't a Senju."

"You're asking me something personal like that based on a possible enemy's words? He said clan heads, Madara, which neither of us are." Hashirama argued back.

"I am an Uchiha." Madara growled. "I am the son of the clan head. Tell me you aren't a Senju!"

Hashirama's eyes widened at the admission and realisation dawned where panic had begun to set in. "_Konoha, that's where I'm from. It was founded by the Uchiha and the Senju. At the time the clan heads were Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama."_ Could the boy have known who they were all along? But he didn't appear to see them as such. Either way what did his words mean?

"I am the son of the clan head." Hashirama replied looking away.

"So where does that leave us?" Madara asked. Neither of them moved. This was a moment that was never supposed to happen. They were never to know each other's family names and confirm that which they had unconsciously suspected all along.

"The Senju killed my brothers." Madara whispered.

"The Uchiha killed mine." Hashirama replied just as softly, as brokenly.

So where did that leave them?

An uncomfortable silence rang in the air, their family names dictating that they were enemies yet their hearts telling them they were friends, sharing a bond that no one else could understand.

Hashirama looked up from the ground. He stared at the boy he'd come to call friend, a boy he trusted with his life. He was still the same boy, no matter what his name was or where he came from.

"I want the war to stop. I want to create a world where children aren't forced to fight. That still hasn't changed." Hashirama stated with determination. "And I still want you to do it with me."

Madara's dark eyes jerked to him in surprise.

"A name is a name. You could have killed me many times over and I you. So . . . I trust you, just don't let that trust be misplaced or you'll regret it." Hashirama continued with a grin, mirroring the very words Madara had spoken to him before.

"I . . ." Madara look away, pain flaring in his eyes before he turned back to Hashirama, the same determination in his eyes as the other. "A name is more than a name, or else we wouldn't have to hide it." Blood red Sharingan swirled to life but the Senju did not look away. "However, I feel as though you do, for the sake of my brother Izuna. You and I will take our clans to new heights . . . and we shall do so, together."

Hashirama grinned broadly. "And I have a feeling that crazy blond is going to help."

The two clasped their hands together with a smile, Hashirama's a toothy grin while Madara's was a small smirk. Yes, they were going to take the ninja world by storm.


	2. Chapter 2

**Man time got away from me. Sorry about that. **

**This chapter was beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow. **

**Thanks for the favs, follows and the reviews. XD**

* * *

**What it takes to be Hokage. **

**Chapter 2**

Madara and Hashirama returned to the cave only to find the teen fast asleep again. They'd wanted to talk to him but some things, like chakra exhausted crazy ass Shinobi who needed to regain their strength, couldn't be helped.

A strange weight had lifted from their shoulders. They knew each other's names, knew they were supposed to be enemies, but in spite of that they had chosen to still stick together.

"Bet you can't beat me in taijutsu anymore." Madara smirked, Sharingan swirling into existence.

"Oh yeah? Let's put that to the test." Hashirama grinned but paused to look back at the sleeping ninja. "Still, blondie is weird. Wonder what he was talking about, but at least he's getting better now."

"Yeah. At least he's talking. Still don't know if he's an enemy and that could be our greatest mistake yet. Let's just be hopeful that he doesn't catch us by surprise; that this isn't going to come back and bite us on the ass." Madara replied darkly, walking out into the clearing while Hashirama put the teen in the sun, purely out of habit.

The moment he was done he pulled out a kunai and rushed at the Uchiha, grinning broadly the whole time. "Yeah, yeah Madara. Put your paranoia to the side. I've for a fight to win and it's really no fun when you're this distracted."

.0.0.0.

Fighting, they were fighting again. Naruto sighed before opening his eyes, squinting through the bright light. They were so persistent. He wondered if they were trying to prove something. He didn't say anything nor shift any part of his body to alert them to his conscious state. He merely watched.

He could tell there were Uchiha style attacks and counter attacks from the one blob. It was in the way he moved. The other one seemed to be like the Academy style, only way better, more elaborate, but Naruto couldn't be sure. He still couldn't see very well but it was getting better with every blink.

Every time one was knocked down, they got straight back up and Naruto admired the ethic. He was familiar with it after all. It was also unclear to him who the better was. They seemed to be equal which was something that confused the blond. Uchiha were supposed to be better, but then again, they were supposed to be dead.

Naruto supposed if he really wanted to get moving all he'd have to do is go into Sage Mode. He was forced into a state of motionlessness anyway, so it wouldn't be all that hard but that might startle his caretakers, and he still wasn't sure where he stood with them. They had said that there were no such things as Ninja villages, that the Senju and the Uchiha would never work together, but that was just ridiculous.

Still, Naruto enjoyed their company, even if they themselves seemed to have been born and raised under a rock.

However, they each disappeared in opposite directions every time they left. They did not live together. So that meant two entirely different families having been raised under metaphorical rocks. He knew they had families from the snippets of conversations he'd heard and he was intrigued with some of the things they spoke of. Still, this was confusing in ways that he'd never been introduced to before.

Naruto was getting to the part where things just never made sense to him, and people stopped trying to explain it to him so he decided to try someone else, or rather some _thing _else. Perhaps now he'd be able to concentrate enough to talk to the Kyuubi.

He allowed his eyes to drift shut once more, focusing on falling deeper within himself. Briefly he wondered where the fox had been in terms of chakra. He shouldn't have taken this long to recover in the first place.

_Drip. _

_Drip._

_Drip._

Opening his eyes, Naruto was delighted to find that not only had he succeeded, but he was standing as well. Stretching out and grinning broadly, the blond took full advantage of this sudden turn of events.

"This is waaaay better than just lying around all day." Naruto said out loud, not caring in the slightest that there wasn't anyone around to hear him. Taking off with a chuckle the blond raced through the corridors to find the fox. He wasn't particularly eager to see the fox, not after what had happened during the fight with Pein but oh well. Desperate times called for desperate measures.

At least this was the place where he had met his Otou-san. Just thinking about it made Naruto giddy. It sucked that he still didn't know who his mother was but that was alright. He'd ask Baa-chan about it later.

The splash that the water made as his feet slammed down on it always amused Naruto. His mindscape really was something, even if it was only a sewer. It was still fascinating. But now was not the time to be making trivial observations; he'd reached the turn that lead to the Kyuubi's cage.

"Hey! Fuzzball, you awake?" Naruto screeched into the darkness that usually shrouded the nine-tails. He slowed down to a walk before stopping outside the bars that contained the powerful beast.

One blood red eye opened in annoyance before large teeth gleamed at him. The growl was deep enough that it vibrated right through Naruto, making him feel like he'd just been in an Earthquake.

"I'll take that as a yes." Naruto grinned, not intimidated by the fox's quirks anymore. "So how come I'm still down and out?" Naruto continued.

"**It is my job to keep you alive from life threatening injuries. There's not much even I can do against stupidity and you, brat, have it in spades.**" Kyuubi sneered, not at all enjoying this visit. He'd been so close to freedom that it had actually hurt only to have that damnable Fourth Hokage interfere once again.

"So what the hell is wrong with me?" Naruto asked, ignoring the comment about his intelligence. He'd heard just about every insult there was.

"**Chakra exhaustion. A rare kind that I have not seen since the days of the warring clans. Which brings us back to your stupidity. I am not wont to heal injuries caused by time travel. You were the foolish human that attempted such a moronic path, you are the foolish human that must live with the consequences. At any rate, your body is restoring itself far faster now that you are awake, or able to be so. You should be regaining your strength sooner now." **Wow, the Kyuubi was being suspiciously helpful at the moment. It was actually kind of nice and it saved time.

Wait a minute . . .

"Time travel?!" Naruto squeaked. "That's impossible."

"**Incorrect foolish brat. You have just done such a feat so therefore it is possible. However it's extremely foolish to even contemplate attempting which is why you're the senseless foolish moron who clearly lacks intelligence. Nevertheless, you've managed, in all your Kami given luck, to land with the two damnable humans I hate more than the Yondaime: Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara. The founding fathers of that pathetic crater you call a village. They are perhaps the only two humans in this era who are too stupid and too curious to kill you upon sight. Instead they cared for you, when all others would have ended you." **Kyuubi chuckled darkly. "**Well they would have tried but they would have found it a much more troublesome pass time than what it was worth.**"

"So Konoha really doesn't exist?" Naruto was, amazingly, grasping this concept well.

"**No. Not for several more years. But hey, now you can have a hand in the creation of the place. Who knows I might even give you a few pointers."** Kyuubi being helpful was something to worry about, so to save his own sanity Naruto decided to pass that off for sarcasm.

"So what do I do now?" Naruto whispered. "And how did I get here?"

"**You know, you're surprisingly agreeable today brat. Perhaps on some unconscious level you already knew this. Either way, I don't care what you do now so long as it meets two conditions. Don't die and leave me alone.**"

"Thanks for the support Fuzzball." Naruto snapped before his features softened somewhat. "And thanks for the information. Usually you're more of a pain about things.

"**I've come to the conclusion that if I give you what you want, you'll leave faster, so now it's your turn to hold up your end of the deal. Leave.**" The lone blood red eye closed, indicating that the fox was done talking now.

Naruto backed away, his mood now reflecting on what he had learned and the implications thereof rather than exuberant over the fact that he was able to actually move around in his mindscape.

So he was really in the past. Unless the fox was just messing with him. Aw man, why hadn't he paid closer attention to history?

How was he going to convince the two that were taking care of him that he was from the future and that where he came from, they were the greatest ninja to ever live?

Hang on? Since when were Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama friends?

Well what do you know, the bonds of friendship seemed to be a one in every generation kind of thing. Kakashi had told him about Obito. Then Ero-sennin had told him about Orochimaru once. It just sucked that they always ended the same way and that was badly.

Naruto was jerked from his mindscape when someone shoved something into his mouth.

He opened his eyes to see the Uchiha blob in front of him. "You missed breakfast." He was informed curtly.

This kid, this serious Uchiha . . . this was one of the greatest ninja ever and he was force feeding Naruto? Fate had a terrible sense of humour. Naruto was inclined to agree with Neji on that one.

"Are you going to kill me?" Naruto managed to rasp out when the cup was taken away from his mouth. Seemed they were feeding him liquids. Made sense since he couldn't exactly chew while unconscious.

"Do I need to?" Madara replied, quirking an eyebrow. He was perfectly serious.  
"I won't fight you, or Hashirama. I respect you too much for that." Naruto replied.

"Respect? You don't even know us." Madara replied with narrowed eyes.

"Oh lay off the suspicion Madara, he just complimented us." Hashirama chirped, returning from wherever it was that he'd been prompting the Uchiha to roll his eyes. Trust Hashirama to completely disregard the possible danger this boy presented.

"I don't have to. You two, you're Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama. You may not be it now but you'll be the two greatest ninja in the elemental nations since the Sage of Sixth paths." Naruto sighed with a small smile, ignoring or missing the tensing of the two Shinobi at the mention of their full names. "I know so."

"What the hell is he going on about?" Hashirama whispered not so softly to Madara.

"I'm not from here, this time I mean. I've come to the realisation that I'm from the future, about eighty years or so to be exact." Naruto interrupted.

"Time travel? Is that even possible?" Madara was sceptical.

"Ooooo time travel! How fun. Quick, tell me what the future is like?" Hashirama yelled happily not at all concerned with whether it was possible or not. "Do they have really cool jutsu? Are the girls kick ass craz–"  
"You can't be serious Hashirama." Madara complained.

"Nothing is impossible, Madara. You just have to have the right determination. " Hashirama lectured the Uchiha as though speaking to a small child before returning his attention to a weakly chuckling blond, his tone growing serious. "Now, Naruto was it? Tell me, do the children still fight in the wars?"

"I guess I might as well explain everything, well everything that I know. I wasn't the most attentive person, but who knows, maybe I'll know more than I thought. Anyways all ninja belong to hidden villages and wear a headband to show which one they belong to. See, like mine. I belong to Konoha, only the greatest village ever." Naruto began. "Not every Shinobi does though. Some are rogues and some leave, slashing through their symbol to show that they are no longer loyal to their village but that they're still ninja. There are even some ninja who wander around, like nomads. Anyways, there are a lot of ninja villages but there are only five that are considered to be really powerful. They're called the Five Great Shinobi Nations . . ." Naruto began to tell the two, who despite their earlier reservations over whether or not Naruto was a spy or an enemy were listening intently, all about the Shinobi world he'd grown up in. He spoke of the Kage and what it meant to be one. He spoke of the allied nations and smaller ninja villages. He spoke about things he hadn't even been aware that he knew of until it just came out or popped into his head. Man if his team could see him now, they'd be impressed with how much he actually remembered, understood and could relate to others in a way that was possible for them to understand as well.

The more he spoke the more captivated Hashirama and Madara grew, growing comfortable with his large sparkling blue eyes, and becoming infatuated with the clear love that Naruto held for his village. It was simply impossible not to trust the teen.

He gave detailed explanations about the ranking system and how the missions were ranked accordingly, making sure that no ninja got a mission above his skill level unless the client lied about the mission. This fact particularly interested Madara and Hashirama. They seemed to be overly pleased with it in fact. Naruto guessed it had something to do with the children they'd asked about earlier.

Naruto continued talking, telling them all about Konoha; how it was run and what it represented; the bonds that they developed with their fellow ninja . . . the will of fire. He spoke until the sun crested in the sky and then sank low into the horizon, until his voice was hoarse and cracking and still it seemed like he hadn't said enough.

He was growing too tired to stay awake though and his sentences kept trailing off. He supposed that tomorrow was another day but he'd come to realise something in the process of speaking. He had the opportunity to change everything that had ever gone wrong. All the mistakes, all the heartaches, like the ninja wars that had given birth to Shinobi like Nagato, he could change it all.

He wanted to change more than just the wars. Konoha, no matter how much he loved it, needed to be changed. There were some things within the village that Naruto knew with all his heart were not right. He'd change it, he'd make Konoha a place where bonds were true and lasting, where every man, woman and child felt the will of fire right to their core . . . but not because they were forced to or because they were brainwashed to, but because they wanted to. Iruka-sensei had told him that a child, the way they were, always depended on how they had grown up, how their parents deemed to raise them. So, treating Konoha like his child, Naruto was going to raise the strongest will of fire he could, in all of the people that came to call the place home. He wanted to create a world where no one would ever want to run away from it; no one would ever want to betray it. A world strong enough to withstand any attack.

But no matter how much Naruto tried to stay awake, no matter how much he tried to tell them everything in one day, he couldn't. So when the blond finally nodded off and started snoring, Madara lifted him and placed him back in the cave, under the blanket that Hashirama had stolen for him so many weeks ago.

"The world he describes, it's exactly as we've always talked about . . . it's more." Hashirama's eyes were wide, wondering.

"We can't believe him just yet . . . no matter how tempting. For now, I believe we should return home. It's almost dark." Madara replied softly. "We're already late."

.0.0.0.

Hashirama hurried through the trees as fast as he could, panting hard as he tried to make it before the light got too poor and the guards mistook him for an enemy.

He was almost there, just a few more trees. Ducking the kunai, the Senju dropped to the ground and skidded to a halt.

"You're late, brother." Tobirama stated calmly.

"I know." Hashirama stated sheepishly. "But today was an exciting day. I have discovered a great many things."

"Why don't you tell us some of these things." A new voice said from the shadows just inside the compound, which Hashirama was still standing outside of.

"Otou-san." Hashirama greeted with a bow. "I have learnt nothing that would be of value to an experienced Shinobi such as yourself. I am sure that you have already discovered such things." Hashirama lied to his Otou-san often, so much so that he barely felt guilty about it anymore. However, should his Otou-san learn of his Uchiha friend and the Uzumaki he was caring for, then he would likely be killed for it, so lying was necessary.

"I see. Well be sure not to be late again." Then his Otou-san's soft footsteps were walking away.

"You shouldn't lie to him so much, brother." Tobirama stated softly.

"I know, but he would never understand. I, baby brother, have found a way to bring peace to this land, and you are going to help me. All of the Senju are. But not just yet. I have to get stronger before I can do that." Hashirama winked at his ever so serious little brother before walking past him and into the compound, leaving him to decipher the cryptic remark on his own.

"Peace? Is there really such a thing?" Tobirama was following him now. "And when are you going to stay inside the compound and train for once? You haven't sparred with me in months."

"Would you like to spar right now?" Hashirama asked with a grin.

Tobirama hesitated before a rare smile lit his features. He knew that his brother was probably tired from having run back home but Hashirama was still offering to spar with him. He had the greatest big brother ever, even if sometimes he didn't act like he was the oldest.

"Sure. Let's go to the training ground with the torches."

"Isn't that one in the middle of the compound?" Hashirama asked, scratching his head.

"What, you afraid that someone will steal your moves?" Tobirama teased.

"No, no. Just checking." Hashirama replied before taking off and heading to the training ground.

Tobirama shook his head before following his brother, matching his pace. When they arrived the two began to light the torches with chakra, making the fire a little hotter than had they used natural fire.

"Ready little brother?" Hashirama asked with a teasing smile.

"I can take whatever you throw at me, Hashirama. You slack off on your training too much." Tobirama replied confidently.

The two rushed at each other, Hashirama laughing in delight the entire time. Tobirama was as serious as ever. The taijutsu match that ensued managed to capture the attention of most of the other Senju who were now surrounding the sparring brothers' training field, watching with soft proud smiles. These children were the future of their clan, children who were to surpass their parents and take the clan further and they were promising. It was a shame that their brothers had not survived. But that was a regret many would never speak of. After all, a Shinobi died with honour when they died on the battle field, no matter if that Shinobi was nothing more than a child.

"You're not even using the Senju style anymore you bastard!" Tobirama yelled while Hashirama laughed.

"Don't need to little brother, you're just that slow." Hashirama felt lighter than he had in years. Uzumaki Naruto, if his story was true, represented a world he wanted with all his heart. A place for his brother to be safe and that was something he would strive to achieve, no matter how much work it took.

.0.0.0.

Madara walked casually through the Uchiha compound gates. He kept an air of arrogance around him . . . sneered at those he passed. It was expected of him and he'd be lying if he said that a small part of him didn't enjoy it. However the larger part of him did not. He was the clan head's son, and he was exceptional for his age. That should really do all the speaking for him, rather than having to have this charade.

"You're finally home, brother." Izuna watched him from the shadows, newly activated Sharingan spinning lazily. Another exceptional Uchiha. What would he say if he should learn of Madara's friendship with a Senju far beyond his years as well?

"Did your mission go well?" Madara replied softly, the arrogance leaving his tone.

"Yes." Simple, to the point. He would not say more and Madara would not ask.

Uzumaki Naruto's words flashed through his mind and Madara found himself wondering if it was really possible. Did he really go so far as to make a pact with the Senju just to keep his brother safe?

Looking at the boy, he realised that he would do anything to make sure his younger sibling remained in this realm, this realm of the live and well.

However, Senju Hashirama was different, in more way than just your average Senju. He was in a whole other league, giving even his Sharingan a run. Yet his attitude in life was like no other. Madara could and would believe in anything that boy proposed and he'd follow him to the other ends of the elemental nations if that is what he desired.

Why?

Why would he go so far for a Senju, a ninja that was supposed to be his most hated enemy?

Because Senju Hashirama understood and had experienced his pain.

Understanding, something no one else had ever boasted to have when it concerned Uchiha Madara, an enigma even to his own younger brother. That was why he'd go so far for a Senju.

.0.0.0.

It was three full days before Madara and Hashirama could get back to Naruto. When they did manage to get to the cave, mere minutes apart from the other, it was with some shock to see that Naruto was gripping the entrance of the cave, knuckles white and eyes determined.

When he saw then however, he lost his grip and crumbled to the floor with an oof.

Drawing closer they saw that a fine sheen of perspiration was now covering his face, making the small hairs at the back of his neck stick down. His breathing was uneven, sharp and hazard, but he grinned at them, eyes sparkling with happiness.

"Hey guys? Been busy?" He asked cheerfully.

"We could say the same about you." Madara shrugged.

"Oh, yeah well I don't like sitting still. So far I've managed to get to the entrance. But it took me three days to do it. Which, quite frankly, sucks." Naruto pouted.

"He's an Uzumaki. I'm surprised he's not stir crazy by now." Hashirama shook his head.

"You know, I don't know any Uzumaki. They were all killed expect for a few survivors during the Third or Second Shinobi War. Not sure which one seeing as I sucked at history." Naruto commented thoughtfully, his eyes dimming as he frowned.

"An entire clan?!" Hashirama squeaked in alarm.

"Jip. They got too powerful I think. But I never did learn any sealing because there was no one left to teach it. It's practically a dying art in the future. You know, if we do things right, then we can stop that." Naruto visibly brightened at the suggestion. "And in Kiri there was this Bloodline purge going on and that really sucked. People, guilty or innocent, were killed just for having something they were born with. Konoha praises their bloodlines, so the idea of just snuffing them out like that. It's just wrong!" Naruto shuddered and so did Madara, his Sharingan activating in his silent anger. "I think we should, I dunno, try and bring some clans from Kiri here, if we can . . . so that they don't have to fall into that again." Naruto added very quietly.

"I'm sure we can look at it, but just remember Naruto, not everyone here is like us. In fact I think we're the only two that are even thinking about something like this." Hashirama agreed softly before growing serious. "Not everyone is going to be open to this idea of peace. They like the fighting too much. This isn't going to be easy and it's going to take time."

Naruto blinked at him before growing distant, thoughtful. "What's it like here? Why did you want to build Konoha?"

Madara and Hashirama looked at each other before sitting down in front of Naruto. "Well, simply put, it's so that the clans no longer have to clash with each other. So that children, like us and our brothers, don't have to fight in these meaningless wars."

"But why do they fight?" Naruto's brows furrowed together. This concept was something he could never understand. Sure he figured a good punch or two was enough to knock anyone around and back into their senses. But a full on war? That was just overkill.

"Power, land, money. It doesn't matter why. They just do. The problem is, that in these warring times, Shinobi aren't expected to live longer than 30 years. That is just a fact of life." Madara replied with a growl of anger. "Because of this children are trained from the time they can hold a kunai. As such the children are sent into these battles with little experience and hardly enough training. The enemy target the children, killing them because they represent two things, an easy kill, and the next generation. Without children, there can be no future Shinobi."

"30! No way! Jiji was practically ancient. Bet you guys don't have any of those huh? And how can they send kids into wars? It's just not right!" Naruto fumed, wishing he had the strength to do more than yell right about now.

"It isn't but from the time we're born, we're taught that it's an honour to die in battle, that a Shinobi can do no greater deed for their clan. Both Madara and I have lost siblings to this senseless fighting already." Hashirama agreed, looking away in anger and pain. "The Senju and the Uchiha are perhaps the most well-known, and as such, the ones who have to fight the most. That is why I said it's unheard of for a Senju and an Uchiha to work together." Hashirama had turned to look at Naruto again with a burning gaze.

"But you guys did. You created something amazing." Naruto grinned. "And this time I'll be here to tell you guys what you were most known for so that you can focus on those areas, becoming even more badass and I can tell you guys what you did wrong. No offense intended, really, it's just that I think some things might have looked really great at the time, but they aren't really now. Like for example, the ranking system. You guys could change that. Instead of genin, chunin, tokubetsu jonin and jonin, it can be divided into something like genin, tokubetsu genin, chunin, tokubetsu chunin, tokubetsu jonin, jonin, elite jonin. See some of the missions that come through can be ranked differently too. Trust me, when you have a genin team whining about the D-rank missions, it'll be a lot easier to tell them that they're genin and not tokubetsu genin. And for that matter only tokubetsu genin can enter the chunin exams and they can only be tokubetsu genin if they've been genin for at least a year." Naruto ranted, trying to get something he felt rather strongly about across. Secretly it stemmed from a long frustration of being merely a genin. Also, his own chunin exam had been a disaster and really, those preliminary rounds sucked."

Madara and Hashirama looked at each other with a raised brow before looking back to Naruto's serious pout. They couldn't help but laugh at the blond. "Naruto, that ranking system works just fine. Don't mess with a good thing." Hashirama managed to reply between chuckles.

The blond only pouted more. However, at least the two were smiling again. Their lives, the Era of the Warring Clans, quite frankly sucked. It was no wonder they grew to be so strong; they had to. And this time around Naruto was determined to help them along the way.


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter was Beta-ed by the amazing Jenny-Cat-Miaow!**

**This fic will focus on relatively short chapters, roughly 5000 words or so. At least that's what I plan in my head but sometimes the story just does it own thing and 5000 words quickly becomes 10 000 but for now it shall remain 5000.**

* * *

**What it takes to be Hokage**

**Chapter 3**

Naruto huffed in exhaustion as he leaned heavily on Madara's left side. "I never knew walking took so much energy." He gasped.

"Cheer up Naruto! You're getting better all the time." Hashirama offered with a warm smile.

"Aww man, you don't get it. I've never been down and out this long." Naruto whined. "I'm an Uzumaki!" he added for further protest and Hashirama laughed.

"Ohkay, ohkay, I get it now. This really must be killing you huh?" Hashirama asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Yes. It is. Now weren't you supposed to be really great at medical ninjutsu? Paving the way for all aspiring medic nins?" Naruto asked with a pout.

"Not there yet. Madara, remind the ninja that we are only children." Hashirama stated and told the other black haired Shinobi, rather unnecessarily seeing as Naruto heard his words all the same.

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around you being a medical ninja in anything. You can't even keep a decent campfire going." Madara snorted, helping Naruto by lowering him to the floor so that he could sit down.

"So mean. . ." Hashirama wilted, the small cloud of self-doom bubbling to life above his head. "You're the one that's great with fire style."

"You've got to be kidding me." Madara growled in annoyance while Naruto chuckled. The founders of Konoha never ceased to amaze him. Hashirama was more like a child than anything, yet he was powerful and would only grow more so. Madara was an Uchiha but he was nothing like what Naruto would expect from the arrogant clan. He also had a tendency to overreact. A lot. Just as Hashirama had a tendency to fall into snap depressions. It was all very amusing to the blond.

The fact that the Uchiha and the Senju had decided to take Naruto's words at face value was never mentioned. The situation they found themselves in was simply accepted as it was. It had been two whole months since Naruto had fallen into their world and he was making progress; slow progress.

He did wonder if the realisation, the knowledge of what they were supposed to achieve, was more of a burden to them, like a great pressure weighing them down, instead of the chance to grow powerful with the help of everything that Naruto knew. After all, it wasn't every day that one learnt they were supposed to be the founders of a village such as Konoha and keep the peace across the entire elemental nations. Not only that, it had to be daunting to realise that they were the creators of an entirely new way of life, a different way of living. It was a way of life that was, as Naruto had seen it, in danger of extinction because of mistakes that could not have been foreseen at the time of Konoha's creation.

But then, he remembered that he was the Child of Prophecy and he had been carrying that title for a while now and that in his hands rested the fate of his precious people. If he did this right then everything in the future, his true present, would turn out perfectly. Or so that was his plan.

He did wonder if his actions would interfere with the birth of certain people, the natural events that he had come to know as his own reality, but he'd never actually find out because he had no idea how he'd gotten here in the first place and he had no idea how to go back to his own time either. So he was stuck here, and he doubted he'd live that long anyway. Mito had lived long enough to see a very young version of his mother but that was all.

"Hey, I managed to remember some stuff that you guys might be interested in." Naruto stated suddenly, getting the other two's attention immediately, and pulling his own mind from the somewhat depressive thoughts.

Truthfully, he'd been talking to the Kyuubi again as he seemed to end up there when he fell asleep. Since he couldn't leave without waking up and when he went back to sleep he just ended up back in his mindscape anyway, the nine tailed fox had grudgingly begun to have conversations with him. Naruto even got the feeling the fox didn't really mind the company, even if he grumbled about it. It was odd company but Naruto didn't mind so much either.

"Yeah, what did you remember?" Madara prompted seeing as Naruto seemed to have drifted off.

"Well, let's start with you Madara." Naruto grinned while Hashirama finally snapped out of his depression. The Kyuubi had seemed reluctant to tell Naruto anything about Madara, reminding Naruto that the Valley of the End had been a result of a fight between Madara and Hashirama, where the latter had supposedly killed the former. Madara was also someone the Kyuubi really did not like because of his deeds in the future. Naruto had to patiently explain that the boy in front of them was hardly going to turn out like that at all, not with Naruto around.

"The Sharingan is activated by cases of extreme emotion, either good or bad." Naruto didn't actually know if any of this was true, he was simply parroting Kyuubi. "Mastery of the Sharingan is displayed in the number of tomoe they possess. However, what you and your younger brother, Izuna, discovered was the existence of another Sharingan, one that was above the Sharingan you have now." Naruto paused to let that sink in. "Since I'm not an Uchiha," Since Kyuubi refused to say how it was activated because it also gave an Uchiha the power to control him to some extent "I don't know how this is done nor what happens when you achieve this Sharingan. I do know that it's called the Mangekyou Sharingan." Kakashi-sensei had told him that on the mission with Deidera.

"As you are now, you and your brother have exceptional chakra, but this is something you already know. You managed to rise in skill to a level where none but one could match you and that was Hashirama." Naruto finished.

"So, basically, due to the Uchiha's own paranoid secrecy, you don't know much." Hashirama summarised.

"There's another level to the Sharingan . . ." Madara whispered, completely awestruck.

"Yeah, and the abilities are unique to each Uchiha who awakens it. I've heard though, that the circumstances under which a Mangekyou is awakened is not . . . pleasant." Naruto looked down, eyes growing sad.

"I can imagine. Since it takes such high emotional standards just for a normal Sharingan, what would it take for a new level?" Madara mused, looking towards the sky with a frown.

"Well, I guess that's what you and your brother Izuna figure out." Naruto grinned, looking back up again. "Now Hashirama as I've already stated was a renowned medic, setting the standard for all those who wished to follow that line of learning. He's also a sensor, a kenjutsu specialist once owning a scroll that carried just about any weapon imaginable. He also created the greatest Kekkei Genkai in the ninja nations, that as far as I know was never really passed on to any of his children or grandchildren for that matter. The Mokuton. A combination of water and earth style. I can explain a little of how it works since I had this sensei who had the Mokuton because some sicko decided to experiment on a bunch of kids to see if any of them would ever be able to use Mokuton. My sensei always did say that he could never be able to measure up to your abilities. It was also a rather sore topic for him so it wasn't talked about much."

"Was he related to me?" Hashirama asked, tilting his head slightly, "Since his body accepted the Mokuton."

"No idea. His name was Yamato, but Kakashi-sensei sometimes called him Tenzou which used to make him really annoyed for some reason. I'm guessing it's his previous name or his real name. No idea why he needed a fake name to begin with but oh well. As for the Mokuton, it's a mixture of both water and earth chakra, flowing together at the same time. Something that I've been told is incredibly hard to do. Never tried to see if I have more than one elemental affinity so I wouldn't know if it is. But I'll take their word for it, my sensei's that is." Naruto grinned sheepishly as he rambled.

"Uhm I'm sorry to say Naruto, that that explanation isn't very helpful." Hashirama sweat dropped.

"Hmmmm, well then let's try something else." Naruto muttered to himself. He raised his right hand and tilted his head slightly, "Let's pretend I have earth chakra and I focus it in this hand." He began and the two nodded. He raised his left hand and stated again "And in this hand I focus water chakra." They nodded again. "Yamato-taichou almost always began a mokuton jutsu like this." Naruto finished by placing his two hands together like Yamato did often.

"I think I might actually get it now. I can't expect a better explanation than that because well, I hardly expect anyone to have the patience required to explain something so complex to him. They might have only given him the very basic of explanations to begin with so that they could explain something else to him." Hashirama muttered, starting to think out loud while Madara smacked his forehead and Naruto pouted at the other boy's word.

"Anyways, Hashirama was also a master of senjutsu." Naruto added with a frown of defiance at the Senju who didn't see it.

"Senjutsu?"

"Yeah, it's where you utilise the natural energy in the air around you. Not everyone can do it." Naruto's grin was back as he answered Madara's question. "It's really dangerous too because if you use too much your own chakra is overwhelmed and you turn into stone. Not enough and it's kind of pointless." Naruto wasn't about to go into a rather lengthy explanation on senjutsu. He still wasn't entirely sure what would happen to his own sage mode should he try to enter it. The little things like that were what was holding him back when it came to telling them more about it. It was too dangerous.

He didn't want them to get hurt trying. They were still technically just kids, younger than Naruto currently was. Not by much though, just younger. They were possibly fourteen, perhaps thirteen where Naruto was sixteen.

"So essentially, both of us kick ass?" Madara asked with an Uchiha worthy smirk.

"I've been saying that from day one." Naruto pouted, tempted to shake his head.

Hashirama just laughed while Madara grinned himself before yanking Naruto back to his feet. "Come on hotshot, we've still got a lot of work to do. You're taking too long to recover."

Naruto felt like groaning and grinning at the same time as Madara forced him to try walking once again.

.0.0.0.

Madara landed near the compound, taking his time in walking through the gates. He enjoyed his time outside the compound far more than he enjoyed his time within it. It was mainly the pressure of expectation that did that to him.

It was one thing to be brilliant; it was another matter entirely to please those around him.

Only Izuna understood what he was going through because, quite frankly, the younger Uchiha experienced it as well.

Madara sought the younger boy out, deciding to spar with him. There was just something about two Sharingan users going at it. It was a fight in a whole different league from something like what he and Hashirama experienced.

He found the boy in one of the various training grounds surrounding the compound. He was moving through some of the Uchiha style katas and Madara took a moment to watch him, to take in the fluidity of his movements, already mentally assessing skill and taking note of weak areas and mistakes.

"Aniki." Izuna greeted as Madara's shadow fell over his relaxed form. The other Uchiha was about to go through the next level of katas, and as his body slid through the motions, Madara began to attack, using the counter kata. Izuna smiled, changing his kata and moving to the defence as well.

Izuna hadn't yet noticed their father frowning at them from the edge of the training ground but Madara did and he ignored the man.

As for the Uchiha Clan Head himself, well he wasn't happy. Madara had been disappearing a lot as of late and where he went was still a mystery to the man.

The only reason he had yet to investigate the matter was because the boy didn't act suspiciously, even if his skill level was rising faster than before the annoying disappearances, and he also kept coming back on time. He still performed his missions at a level expected of someone of his standing and skill and nothing suspicious had happened since he'd started leaving the compound to 'train'.

Looking at the boy it was easy to take his words at face value as he was clearly growing in skill. But he wasn't the clan head for nothing. Madara was hiding something and he would find out what it was. But he knew the only way to do that was to use the one person Madara would not react to, would not fight against.

Izuna.

He just hoped his suspicions were unfounded because it would be perhaps the Uchiha clan's greatest loss if he was forced to execute the boy. It was for that reason alone, that he decided to wait . . . for only a little while, before giving Izuna the order to follow his older brother.

.0.0.0.

Hashirama walked into his brother's room to find him sharpening his katana. He grinned down at the boy before snatching the katana and dashing out the room once again.

"Hashirama!" Tobirama yelled angrily. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Come on Tobi-kun! Play with me." Hashirama laughed from a little down the corridor.

"We don't have time for playing!" The younger Senju snarled in irritation. Of all the days for his brother to begin one of his little games. "I have a mission in the morning.

Hashirama sobered up immediately, looking to the side as stopped running and approached his younger brother before meekly handing the katana back to him.

"And Hashirama will be accompanying you. Debrief him and continue with your preparations." Batsuma stated curtly as he walked passed them, on his way to another meeting no doubt.

The two sighed very softly before returning to Tobirama's room so that the younger could explain to the older what was expected of them.

In truth these missions were a good thing because it meant they weren't fighting another clan over some petty issue or other. Unless they were hired to do so of course.

Batsuma's gaze slid to the side as he passed his oldest surviving son and lingered for a moment longer than what it usually did.

Tobirama had reported strange jumps in his older brother's skill but for outward appearances, Hashirama looked to be the same as ever. However, Tobirama knew the other boy better than Batsuma ever would and as such he took the younger Senju's words to heart.

Hashirama had also been disappearing more and more into those blasted woods doing who knew what. He was very near the point of sending his youngest son after the older to see if he was indeed training as he proclaimed to be.

It was hard not to believe him. Those jumps in skill had to come from somewhere and there was only so far a boy on his own could get. Batsuma knew this all too well.

No matter, he'd wait for now. He wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea of executing his own son for treason.

Not that he actually thought for a moment that he just might have to but the possibility was _always_ there.

.0.0.0.

By the time either Madara or Hashirama could return to Naruto's little cave once again, the blond was outside in the clearing balanced on his hands and steadily lifting his entire body weight before lowering it again.

"Well he sure recovered quickly." Madara muttered as he approached. Hashirama was not there this time but it was bound to happen sooner or later. It had only been pure luck that had enabled them to appear relatively at the same time so far.

"Aren't you worried about detection? I could have easily been an enemy and I got close enough to kill you." Madara scolded the blond as soon as he was in hearing distance.

"Nah, I knew it was you. I can sense it." Naruto grinned not pausing in his full body push ups.

"Really? Are you a sensory type ninja?" Madara asked, tilting his head to the side so that he could observe the blonde's movements. It seemed like he was almost fully recovered.

"Dunno. It was just something I picked up on how to do while I was out. I couldn't move but I could feel everything. I guess it was the ninja paranoia getting desperate or something but I never lost it after I woke up. By now I can sense anyone coming in a 50 feet radius. I can also sense the chakra of everything around me. Rocks have a surprising amount of it, considering they're rocks." Naruto replied lowering his feet to the ground so that he could face the Uchiha.

"I heard the Uzumaki were pretty good at sensing. Perhaps it's a latent ability that was awoken due to the circumstances." Madara supplied.

"Perhaps. Either way I now know if there's anyone approaching me other than you or Hashirama. So far, no one does. I can tell you that you both live in exact opposite directions and that it's not really all that far from each other considering you're mortal enemies." Naruto replied with a grin.

"Interesting as that is, it's kind of useless information for me." Madara raised an eyebrow in amusement. "So how far have you recovered?"

"I'm not at one hundred but I'm getting there far more quickly now. At any rate I can spar with you guys now." Naruto offered before using his orange jacket to wipe the sweat off his neck and chest.

"Oh? Well then, want to give it a go?" Madara asked, getting into a taijutsu stance.

Naruto glanced at him before laughing. "Trying to get me while I'm down eh Madara? I've been doing exercises all day." But he hadn't said no yet.

"I'll go easy on you." Madara shrugged, not at all deterred.

Naruto shook his head in amusement before getting into his own stance. The two sprang together at the same time, throwing punches and dodging them with ease.

"I see you've sparred with an Uchiha before." Madara commented when they separated for a break.

"One of my teammates was an Uchiha. You're more like him than what he'd ever admit. He likes to think he's original." Naruto smirked in reply.

"Was he a good Shinobi?" Madara asked in interest.

"He just might be directly related to you. I'm starting to see some resemblance. He was also the son of the clan head, second son. He was considered a prodigy but not in the same league as his older brother who was considered to be better than the very best. I suppose you could say my teammate was brilliant in his own right but to him it was never good enough because he always compared himself to his older brother." Naruto explained, eyes growing distant and his tone thoughtful.

"His brother, what kind of Uchiha was he?" Madara asked curiously.

He never said a word about what Itachi had done or the fact that Izuna had been killed before Konoha had even been created and sure as hell didn't plan to either. Naruto had come to the conclusion that while he might never know what had really happened on that night, the night the Uchiha were massacred, there was more to the story than what had been told and the same could be said about what had happened to Izuna. Not only that, he had enough experience with Uchihas to know they had fickle tempers, set off by the strangest of things. He didn't want to risk setting off Madara's and causing everything to fall apart before it had even begun.

"A strange one. I never really met him and the rare times that I did he always confused the heck out of me. He was insanely powerful that's for sure." Naruto settled for instead. He felt it was a fair answer and as accurate as he could give because he really didn't know much about Itachi.

He didn't encourage the conversation any further and rather leapt back into the spar, taking it upon himself to attack Madara, a vicious grin on his features as he did so. Madara grinned back just as viciously as he returned the blow.

Neither could say who was better; neither was trying to prove it to each other either. They were merely testing each other out and having fun at the same time.

.0.0.0.

Hashirama gripped his brother's armour as he crouched behind the large boulder.

The younger Senju was out cold, forcing Hashirama to protect them both. This mission was something they should not have been sent on. They were in over their heads. Completely.

What the hell had his father been thinking?

Hashirama would thank Kami and every other deity he knew if he could manage to get both his brother and himself out of this mess alive.

"Where the hell did those brats go?" One of the enemy Shinobi demanded of another.

It was easy to hide Tobirama because he was knocked out. However Hashirama had to try very hard to keep his own chakra under wraps.

"I don't know but just find them and kill them!" The other enemy barked back.

Hashirama knew that he'd have to fight sooner or later, knew it would either be him or their enemy but he was reluctant to leave his younger brother's side for even a moment.

"Wait, what the hell was that?"

Hashirama peek around the edge of the boulder, praying he wasn't spotted only to see the two adult Shinobi looking around frantically as though looking for something.

From his vantage point, Hashirama was able to see exactly where the kunai came from, watched as it sailed through the air before embedding itself into the space between one enemy's eyes.

He fell to the ground in a useless heap, dead before he even hit the ground.

The other ninja reacted to the kunai, pulling out his own and tossing them in the direction the first had come from but it was too late. The unknown attacker had already moved.

"Looking a little worse for wear there, Hashirama." A familiar voice chuckled in his ear.

"Madara." The older Senju felt like he was going to cry.

"Let me guess, you're after the same scroll as I am?" Madara asked with a frown.

It wasn't uncommon for the Senju and the Uchiha to clash on missions.

"Probably. But this mission had a lot more adult Shinobi than what our intelligence said it would. I managed to take out five of them without getting injured. As a result, I'm exhausted and Tobirama was knocked out. I only just managed to get us out of the line of fire." Hashirama reported to the Uchiha in a crisp quiet tone while the Uchiha nodded as he spoke.

"So this is your brother huh? Looks nothing like you that's for sure. But he also appears to be around the same age as my brother." Madara mused, studying the unconscious Senju.

"Are you alone?" Hashirama asked, finally realising that this little conversation could very well get them killed and not by their enemy.

"Yes. Same bad intelligence as you guys got I suppose. Perhaps it was a setup? Someone trying to get the Uchiha and the Senju to fight or at least to take a few down." Madara frowned as he thought it over. "No matter. We'll complete this mission. I'll just copy the scroll with my Sharingan and that way we'll both have it. Mission complete." Madara continued while Hashirama smiled gratefully. "I saw Naruto the other day. He's almost fully recovered. We sparred a little and everything." Madara added on a completely unrelated note.

Hashirama bit his lip to stop the chuckle.

"Alright then, I'll be right back. Since you did most of the work I just have to play clean up." Madara was gone before Hashirama could stop him.

The Uchiha returned some minutes later, tossing a scroll at the Senju. "I don't know about you but I actually wouldn't mind just hanging here for a day or two but I have no idea when your little brother is going to wake up, and I don't imagine him being exactly welcoming of the idea of an Uchiha. That being said, I'll see you around, Senju." Madara gave the other an arrogant smirk and a cheerful wave before disappearing again.

Hashirama couldn't help the large smile that spread across his features.

It wasn't that the adult Shinobi were hard to kill per say. It was more along the lines of there were so many of them that he'd have been chakra exhausted before he managed to get them all because he would have had to use chakra to kill them. Only an extremely lucky shot would have allowed a kunai to kill them as Madara had achieved upon arrival.

Hashirama was convinced that the man had been so flustered by the Senjus' presence that he hadn't noticed the kunai in the first place.

Madara could thank him later.

With a tired sigh, Hashirama tucked the scroll away before getting to his feet and shifting his brother so that he was now on Hashirama's back.

With a last weary smile, Hashirama concluded that it was good to have powerful friends before starting the long trek back home.

.0.0.0.

Madara handed the scroll to his father, not saying a word of how the mission went nor that there were Senju involved because then he'd be asked why he did not kill the Senju.

That was a road he did not feel like going down.

Not to mention his heart had almost literally stopped beating when he's seen Hashirama crouched so pathetically behind that boulder, almost desperately clinging to his baby brother in a way that Madara could whole heartedly understand. That look of utter exhaustion had been near panic inducing for the Uchiha and he'd had to bite his tongue for the pain in order to stop himself from rushing out foolishly.

They might be destined for power but that power was still to come. They were currently only children, powerful children but children all the same.

"This mission was completed in an uncannily short amount of time, Madara." His father commented tonelessly.

"Someone had already attempted it so the forces guarding the scroll were scattered and depleted." Madara shrugged, this being the only answer close enough to the truth he was willing to give his father; the only answer his father was going to get.

"I see. Well then I guess you can call it a lucky break on your part."

Did his father see more than what he stated? Madara could never be sure what went through the Clan Head's mind at times and this was no exception but he knew he himself wasn't giving the man any cause to worry or be suspicious. He had completed his mission and that was all there was to it.

Nothing of Hashirama and Tobirama had to be said.

Not a single thing.

.0.0.0.

"Ummm . . ." A soft groan from the person on his back made Hashirama stop his journey through the trees.

"You waking up there, Tobirama?" he asked quietly.

"You jump through the trees like an ass you know that." Tobirama grumbled.

"Had to make sure you didn't get too comfortable there little brother, didn't need you passing out during every mission." Hashirama teased.

"What happened anyway? I thought we were going to die, I really did." Tobirama asked, the confusion all too evident in his tone.

"We made it out of there with the scroll. What more needs to be said?" Hashirama asked with a small shrug. He didn't need Tobirama asking too many questions because that would lead to things he did not want the other to know about just yet.

He knew his brother was frowning but the boy didn't say anything and Hashirama just continued jumping, not trusting Tobirama to do it himself in his current state. He still wasn't fully with it yet. If he was, he'd be asking questions. He'd probably do it later anyway.

He'd almost lost his third brother this mission and it was a terrible feeling. He had to train harder, he had to get stronger. There was nothing else for it.

He refused to lose Tobirama as well.

He also owed Madara a big one. Had it not been for his arrival, chances were Hashirama would not be making this trip at all.

Not a word would be said to his father about it though. He wouldn't even mention that the Uchiha clan was involved at all.


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter was Beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow. XD**

**Wonder where this story will go? Nah, just kidding, I got plenty of ideas for this fic. :) **

**What it takes to be Hokage **

**Chapter 4**

Hashirama stared up at the rocky surface in front of them. He turned his gaze to the side and grinned at the two ninja standing with him.

"Bet you'll both be eating my dust." He challenged.

"You're totally on!" Naruto pumped a fist in the air and grinned broadly.

"Yeah and this time you're not cheating." Madara growled warningly with a narrowed gaze at the Senju.

"What? You mean playing dirty? Come on Madara, we're all ninja here." Naruto stared at the Uchiha incredulously before shouting "Hence GO!" and dashing up the side of the cliff with an evil cackle.

The three ran up the cliff, one laughing hysterically, one shaking his head in knowing appreciation and one yelling promises of retribution.

"For our next exercise we should try this without chakra." Naruto yelled down to the others happily while they both groaned at the thought before grinning manically at the thought of the challenge.

.0.0.0.

"No, no like this." Naruto shook his head with a silly smile on his face as he re-demonstrated a jutsu he'd learnt as a child. "I still don't believe you guys don't know this. Henge!"

Madara and Hashirama watched the blond carefully, taking in everything they were being shown before nodding to each other, determined to get this right.

Naruto was a little surprised when he learned that the two didn't even know the standardised Academy jutsu. Apparently, training was not something they often had the luxury of and that the two were only allowed so much of it because they were the promise of their clans; the ones most likely to become the next clan heads.

He came to realise just how lucky he'd been having had a sensei throughout his ninja career. Here, in this war torn era, he learned that jutsu were created through vast trial and error largely resulting in premature death. He learned that whole families died out in the hopes of creating and mastering a jutsu as simple as a replacement jutsu. There was nothing to teach, there was nothing to learn, because simply put, it was still being created.

Even the weapons he had so carelessly abused were things that he had come to realise were not easily and as freely available. Weapons in this world were crude, not as finely crafted, and Naruto remembered that Konoha had employed the help of a weapon's specialist and wondered if he'd be able to find that line of weapon developers once again. They truly made some amazing weapons.

Naruto realised that he'd been extremely lucky indeed.

Madara and Hashirama also realised that they would be meeting on the battlefield all too soon and they would have to kill each other's brethren just to maintain a fickle act of hatred for each other because they were not yet strong enough to protect their dream.

It was the most depressing thought they had come to the realisation of. It was something they didn't want to talk about and where trying very hard to find it within themselves to forgive the other for deeds not yet committed.

However all three sensed that there would be a point where they would no longer be able to progress further lest they sought out help. Madara and Hashirama were thinking of pursing the areas that Naruto had told them they were legendary in but had not known enough to actually help them in that area, such as the medical aspect of a ninja's arsenal. Hashirama also came to the humbling realisation that between the three of them, they were the ones that were going to have to pave the way for the future generations, to create the techniques others would learn, the same ones that Naruto had learned in his youth and so much more. They had no teachers, but would rather have to become the teachers themselves.

But at the moment Naruto was teaching the two the most important jutsu in his arsenal, the one that had served him so faithfully and he hoped it would continue to serve his friends rather well.

"Henge!" Hashirama yelled. A puff of smoke covered him from view before the curvaceous figure of Hashirama's idea of a perfect female emerged from the smoke, blowing them a kiss.

There were advantages to teaching this jutsu to kids too young to really understand just how powerful it was because as it was, Madara's nose was beginning to trickle but he hadn't passed out from a full on attack yet and that would be the advantage. It was rather tiresome to have to sit with perverted morons who passed out at the sight of a beautiful woman.

"Needs more bounce." Naruto concluded speculatively.

"Henge!" Madara yelled and his own idea of the perfect female stood in front of Naruto in the typical Uchiha fashion, hand on hip, smoke covering the important bits and waiting with a sneer of arrogance for the Uzumaki's seal of approval.

"Not bad Madara, but you need a bit more_ appeal_. Try throwing some _submissive_ in there or some _coy_." Naruto suggested, squinting at the female in front of him.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Naruto could hear the Kyuubi roaring with laughter.

He supposed when one thought about the history textbooks, this was an act considered against their very ninja religion. Buuuuut well, there was just something appealing to Naruto about making such a pervy mark on history. Besides, Ero-sennin would be so proud.

.0.0.0.

Madara and Hashirama found their day on the battlefield far sooner than what they would have liked.

Uchiha and Senju were clashing all around them, both of the afore mentioned Shinobi sticking very close to their younger siblings to ensure that no one decided to try and take a lucky shot.

Hashirama caught Madara's eye across the battlefield and the other nodded discretely. Before Naruto's arrival, Hashirama and Madara probably would never have noticed each other's presence, merely focused on keeping those precious to them alive.

"Otou-san." Hashirama went to his father, forcibly dragging a protesting Tobirama with him so that he was by Hashirama's side at all times whether he wanted to be or not. He did not have a choice in this. It was as it was.

"What brat?! This is no time for games." His father barked in reply.

His armour was splattered with the blood of both friends and enemies, as those same friends and enemies clashed all around them. While the death toll wasn't particularly high at the moment, it was quickly escalating into a situation where it would be. Batsuma's eyes were wild, his breaths shallow and quick. His body twitched, reacting to everything around him; every sound; every movement.

_Please let this work like Naruto promised it would. _

"Call in a retreat. I wish to use a jutsu that I've been working on but I don't want our own forces to get caught in the effect radius." Hashirama replied back as seriously as he could.

They were surrounded by battles and in actuality were taking a chance by standing still like they currently were.

"Can you guarantee its success?" He could tell that his father was hesitant but he was also desperate.

"As well as any jutsu. If you call in that retreat make sure no one looks back, it's a visual jutsu." Hashirama answered. He was hesitant himself to put one hundred percent faith in this jutsu even though Naruto had promised profusely that it was powerful when used correctly.

"Senju! Take cover!" Batsuma yelled, not even taking a moment to consider his son's words. For some reason, just this once, the man was choosing to trust in his son whole heartedly.

"Go with Otou-san and stay with him Tobirama, you got that!" Hashirama ordered his brother as the Senju began to retreat, confused but doing as ordered all the same.

Before he could be questioned further Hashirama spun around and clasped his hands together. "Bunshin no jutsu!"

Illusionary copies of himself sprang into existence all around the battlefield and the Uchiha began to smirk. They did have the Sharingan after all and an illusion was hardly something to fear.

Unless used in conjunction with an entirely new jutsu.

"Henge!"

The Senju were the undisputed winners of that specific battle.

However, neither side ever recorded it, both due to varying reasons of shame. For the Uchiha, it was pretty obvious, for the Senju, because they had allowed the boy to unleash the jutsu in the first place. Something about underhanded tactics.

But Hashirama and Madara laughed uproariously about it all the same. Without fail. For years and years to come.

.0.0.0.

"This has gone on long enough! Where does that blasted boy go?" Batsuma demanded of the younger Senju currently standing in front of him.

Tobirama did not know the answer and he wasn't exactly looking forward to his father's next words.

"You will follow him, Tobirama and find out what he's really doing. There's no doubt that he's getting stronger but there's something else going on here. Understood?"

"Hai." Tobirama answered curtly before disappearing from the room to wait for the perfect opportunity to do as he was ordered. He didn't agree with his father but he didn't exactly not agree. Hashirama was up to something and Tobirama knew full well that sometimes, his older brother had a tendency to forget just what was good for him and his clan.

Even if he didn't want to betray his brother's trust like this, it was necessary. He was just making sure, that was all.

He didn't actually think that his brother was doing anything truly suspicious.

.0.0.0.

"Izuna." Taijima called out to the young boy softly.

"Hai, Otou-san?" The boy answered.

"Madara has left the compound again. This time I want you to follow him. Find out what he's hiding." Taijima ordered tonelessly.

"Do you truly believe he is, Otou-san?" Izuna asked carefully.

"I know that you idolise him Izuna but this is something you'll only understand when you're older. For now, you must do as you're told."

"Hai." Izuna didn't linger to ask another question.

.0.0.0.

"Man guys, it's been ages, what the heck have you been doing?" Naruto whined the moment the two of them walked into the clearing, which was also hearing distance.

"Some of us have actual duties to perform." Madara replied.

"And some of us have Uzumaki clan heads to meet because they're marrying said clan head's daughter." Naruto grinned before ruffling Hashirama's hair when he got close enough.

"I still can't believe you guys have to get married so young." Naruto shook his head.

"Not the Uchiha. They're too arrogant about their own abilities for that stuff." Madara stuck his tongue out at Hashirama who pouted.

"It's not like I had a choice in this. Besides, I like Mito." Hashirama's pout changed to a silly grin.

That day they were planning on spending the day discussing Konoha after their usual spars and training sessions. Nothing really serious, mostly structural planning. They also wanted to iron out who they had to approach to get things done since Naruto had mentioned that the Daimyo did have some say in the workings of the village. Naruto also wanted to suggest and discuss ways to make Konoha more self-sufficient so that in times of peace, there'd still be income.

They wouldn't have to rely solely on missions.

Naruto froze suddenly as he sensed something that wasn't normal approaching them at a snail's pace. Any slower and Naruto just might have missed them.

Two chakra signatures, just, _just_ similar to the two in front of him for Naruto to be sure that these two were perhaps not strangers at all.

"Did either of you two tell your brothers to come here today?" Naruto asked slowly, carefully. He was fully aware, by now, of the situation around him. He was glad he wasn't a part of it. For now. Soon they were going to have to find a place for him to go.

Madara looked at Hashirama with wide eyes. By now Hashirama has also been informed of Naruto's sensing capabilities and he had actually known a little more about sensing than what Madara had. Tobirama was the better sensor of the two and they did have some sort of regular contact with the Uzumaki. He had agreed with Madara that Naruto's sensing was particularly strong.

Their eyes widened in realisation and Naruto immediately understood that no, they hadn't and that this was a problem.

"Madara, that way," Naruto stated sharply and pointed to the right, towards the Uchiha complex. "Hashirama, left."

They both disappeared with an impressive display of speed as they rushed to retrieve those who were most precious to them and also ironically the ones that could ultimately destroy them, in this moment.

Naruto kept track of what was happening via his sensing and was surprised when Hashirama was the one that was met with resistance whilst Madara approached slowly and his younger brother Izuna stopped immediately at being caught. There was a slight pause and then the two were heading over to where Naruto was.

Hashirama unfortunately had to subdue Tobirama and forcibly drag him into the clearing, neither looking very happy about it. Naruto bit back the laugh when he saw that Tobirama was gagged as well.

A tense awkward silence filled the air, growing thicker and thicker with every passing moment.

"So . . ." Naruto began with a nervous grin but his voice trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"ANM M NNCHUMA!" Tobirama suddenly stated, but his words inaudible through the gag.

Hashirama cringed before removing it. There was a heartbeat of heavy silence, Tobirama glaring daggers at his brother. "AN UCHIHA! What the hell is wrong with you?" he eventually settled for.

"His name is Madara–" Hashirama began, wincing when Tobirama cut him off.

"So you KNOW! You bloody KNOW he's an Uchiha but you're choosing to ignore that?!" Tobirama was beyond livid.

All Naruto could think was damn. _This_ was their Nidaime Hokage?

"Let me explain, Tobirama, before you start crucifying me." Hashirama stated in a low tone that immediately made the younger Senju shut up. Apparently Hashirama really did know who was the oldest.

Sometimes.

"Madara and I have the same goal. We want to end the fighting." Hashirama began. "At first we didn't know that the other was our mortal enemy and we talked about what it would take to stop this endless, _pointless,_ suffering."

Naruto kept his mouth shut, not sure what Madara and Hashirama wanted from him. He'd wait for them to ask because then he'd actually be sure. He didn't want to be the reason the two brothers fought.

"This is treason! Hashirama they'll kill you!" Tobirama yelled, voice going up an octave.

"The Senju is right, brother. This is treason." Izuna stated quietly, yet he was still calm, willing to listen to what his brother wished to say.

"Hai. But what Hashirama says is also true. It_ is_ our aim to end all the fighting." Madara looked to his own brother and then to Tobirama. "We will bring together the two greatest clans and create a place that is our own. We will grow in strength so vast that none will be able to question our position, not even our own clans."

"Tobi-kun, was it not you who said adults are idiots?" Hashirama very gently removed the younger Senju's bounds, trusting that the other boy would at least stay to listen.

Tobirama stood slowly, looking to his wrists as he thought things over.

"If they really want to bring an end to this endless fighting, they need to sit down with one another and reach a truce . . . . . What Shinobi need to do is form a standard, some code of conduct, only then will this senseless killing end. We're in this mess because Shinobi keep seeking vengeance." The pale haired Senju muttered to himself. "Words I lost faith in when Itama was killed. I thought it was a childish dream and the time for childish dreams was long past."

"At the time, when you said those words, and I had seriously started to consider them, was because I had met Madara a few weeks prior to them. While I didn't know he was an Uchiha, I knew he was a Shinobi, a Shinobi from a different clan and perhaps somewhere I could start." Hashirama stated softly.

"But the Uchiha killed Itama. Five of them hunted down one little kid and they slaughtered him. Without mercy!" Tobirama seemed desperate now, eyes filled with the emotions he usually kept tightly in check.

"And we have killed their brothers. Just as we have lost those we hold precious to us, so have they. The two you see in front of you, Izuna and Madara, they're all they the other has left, just as you are all that I have left." Hashirama stated firmly, grasping Tobirama's shoulder and looking into his frantic gaze, trying to both calm and reason with the boy. "Those Uchiha, they were adults. The same ones that believe whole heartedly in the way of the Shinobi that we have grown up with. But listen to me Otouto, there is another way. A better way. But it'll be up to us to make it come to fruition."

Naruto watched as the Uchiha said nothing, neither of them, but instead absorbed the words spoken by both the Senju. The parallels were quite staggering when thought about and it was hard to understand, but at the same time it wasn't, why the two clans clashed so much.

They were two sides of a single coin.

"This senseless idealism that Shinobi have nothing to look forward to other than a bloody death on the battlefield . . . I hate it!" Hashirama growled, glaring at the ground. "You, better than anyone in the clan, know exactly how I feel about this. You've seen how father refuses to listen. So Otouto, help me change it. I told you I'd found a way to end it all and this is it. I had said I was going to need your help, _so help me_? Please." He looked back at his brother, his gaze every bit as pleading as his tone.

Tobirama was silent as he considered what his brother said. Chestnut eyes that almost looked red, glanced to the two Uchiha, considering, calculating.

"You, Uchiha, what say you?" He asked, tone having changed back to his usual calm, controlled, façade.

"I will tell you what I told your brother, long before I knew he was a Senju. Perhaps if I had known, that time being our second meeting, then perhaps I would have tried to kill him. As it was, I said that as Shinobi, death is always knocking on our door. From what I can tell, the only way to avoid that is to be upfront and honest with the other side. Perhaps even form an alliance with them. We'd have to break through the pride that all Shinobi possess, trust in each other enough to have that vulnerability in front of each other. Each side protects that which is theirs so it's not really hate that they feel, maybe. For myself it's only the need to protect my younger brother. I don't hate the Senju, not really." Madara explained, looking at Tobirama as he spoke and Naruto noticed that Madara's words were not something he had shared with his younger brother because the younger Uchiha was looking at his Aniki with new understanding.

The Senju did not look away but Naruto got the impression is was a force of habit more than anything else, that he didn't want to look away from his enemy.

"But how?" Izuna asked suddenly, looking to his older brother.

"You start by standing firm and never wavering from your convictions." Hashirama replied. "Right Madara?"

"Hai. Then you attain unmatched strength and power because no one will follow a weakling." Madara agreed.

"We'll just keep mastering jutsu upon jutsu. We'll reach a point where the adults won't be able to ignore us anymore." Naruto got the impression that this was a conversation that the two had had before because they were grinning faintly at each other as they spoke. "We focus on our weak points, training every chance we can get." Hashirama finished with a serious nod.

"And then when we have become the undisputed leaders of our clans, we bring them together and end the fighting. We'll live in a village where children don't have to fight in senseless wars, where there's a ranking system so that no one will receive a mission above their skill. There will be a school were children are taught what we're left to figure out in the heat of battle." Madara nodded as well, a tiny smile tugging at his lips.

This was the day, before Naruto's arrival, where Madara and Hashirama had officially decided where to place their village, to actually build one at all. It was the day their brothers had watched them before reporting to their fathers. It was the last carefree day of their friendship.

Now, however, it looked as though their friendship could possibly grow to contain two more members, their dream that much closer to becoming a reality.

"What of him?" Tobirama jerked his head towards Naruto.

"He's the proof that this whole thing is possible." Hashirama grinned broadly as though he'd been waiting for Naruto to be involved.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Great to meet you." Naruto grinned.

"Clan name in your first introduction?" Izuna muttered as though this idea was foreign to him.

"He's a weird one, but he's not from here." Hashirama agreed with a shrug. "He's from our village, the one we want to create."

"Baka, you're not explaining this very well." Madara hissed in annoyance at the older Senju who fell into one of his depressed states with a muttered "I'm sorry I'm so inadequate Madara."

"Naruto is from the future, where our dream to create a world without fighting became a reality. For him, he grew up in the world we envisioned." Madara stated simply, his tone daring anyone to try and call him crazy.

"Yeah, where I come from its common practice to introduce yourself, with your full name. If you're lucky, people will fear your name and there won't be any fights at all. My sensei was like that, most of the time." Naruto explained with a smile. "I think I was really close to having people fear and respect me. Too bad I'll never know. I'd just mastered Sage Mode too." He added with a pout. "Anyways, where I came from, was a Village called Konohagakure and it was founded by the Senju and the Uchiha." Naruto paused to frown. "However, the fact that Madara and Hashirama were friends before the founding of the village was never taught to us so I'm guess this happened the first time around but instead of explaining things to you two, the clans got involved and the friendship was ended."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Izuna asked with a slight frown.

"Because he speaks of far too many things that can't be lied about. To fabricate an entire way of life . . . one is bound to make mistakes, to leave out details." Madara shrugged. "I can't detect any signs of lying when he speaks."

"Also, I saw him arrive. He fell out of the sky where there was nothing to fall from." Hashirama added with an amused snort.

"And sometimes, you're just going to have to have a little faith. I know it's difficult to trust anyone due to the life you have lived so far but I also know that you want this fighting to end." Naruto blinked as he spoke in a serious tone he rarely used. "This can happen and I think I speak for all three of us when I say we want you guys to do this with us."

"I do, Tobi-kun." Hashirama added.

"As do I, Izuna." Madara patted his younger brother's shoulder gently, and smiled softly at the younger Uchiha.

"What do we tell our clan heads?" Tobirama asked and his use of plural pronouns was not missed. "It will not be easy to lie to them."

"Then you tell them half of the truth. We are training." Madara replied with a smirk.

"I think this means that you're on board right?" Naruto asked looking from Izuna to Tobirama and back again.

"Hai. I will follow my Aniki wherever he may feel to lead." Izuna agreed.

"As will I. A childish dream just might be the thing we need to make this work." Tobirama stated carefully.

"Well a sensei of mine once said, it's only a crazy idea if it doesn't work, otherwise it's bloody brilliant." Naruto grinned broadly, eyes sparkling with amusement before he grew serious again. "As far as I can remember, Izuna was just as skilled as Madara in the same areas. You two focused on everything and worked together, growing in power by each other's side. Tobirama was a master at all Water Style Techniques. He was particularly badass in genjutsu. A sensory type much like my father was; could possibly have been the inspiration for my father. But you already knew he was really good at sensing. Hmmm, I read once or heard once that he was really good with Space-Time Ninjutsu. We already know that he's really good with kenjutsu since that's his favourite style of attack and as such he's also really good with Taijutsu. He also created a technique that's based on Space-Time Ninjutsu, I suppose. It's called Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation. He was quite known for it." Naruto replied thoughtfully.

"Edo Tensei? What does it do?" Hashirama asked, eyebrows pulling together.

"Basically . . . It uses a sacrifice to bring a person back to life. But it's not true life and the one that performed the technique is able to control the one who is bought back to life. It's a horrible jutsu." Naruto spat out with a disgusted shiver. "But I could understand why he'd make it. He classified it a kinjutsu so I guess he felt the same way." Naruto looked at the younger Senju then, whose mouth was hanging open at the explanation of his skills. "Tobirama, some time in his life, acquired and learnt to master the use of a blade called the Sword of the Thunder God. Let me tell you, that blade is a bitch. It zaps you every time it touches you. Kunai only act as conductors. Some jerk stole it from the Leaf before defecting. My teammate, Sasuke and I, we ended up destroying it when we were genin. Sorry about that. It must have been something to see it in action though. The idiot that stole it couldn't really use it." Naruto continued, hoping to distract the Senju from his depressing thoughts of the need for a jutsu that brought the dead back to life.

"While it might have been you and Madara that founded Konoha, he was the one to really get it going. He established the organisational system, and stuff like the Academy, the ANBU, the Chunin Exams and the Police Force." Naruto teased the older Uchiha and Senju as well as informed. But Hashirama only smiled fondly.

"Yeah I can just imagine that." Hashirama grinned. "He was the one that actually inspired the idea for Konoha."

"So this is real?" Tobirama whispered, "You're really from the future?"

"Hai." Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

"I think I need to sit down." The pale haired Senju muttered with wide eyes prompting his older brother to laugh.

"Izuna, are you ready for this? Are you ready to work harder than what you ever have before?" Madara asked his younger brother very quietly.

"Hai, Aniki. I will help you to make your dream a reality." Izuna smiled at his brother and Madara finally relaxed.

As Naruto watched the two Uchiha, he began to see just why Sasuke had been so devastated about his older brother. There was a bond between them that no one would ever begin to understand.

.0.0.0.


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter was Beta-ed by the awesome Jenny-Cat-Miaow. **

**Hope you guys enjoy. XD**

**What it takes to be Hokage **

**Chapter 5**

Tobirama bowed to his father before he approached.

His father was sitting at a low table, reading over some documents. A soft wind fluttered the banners that hung nearby depicting the Senju clan crest.

The young Senju sat down on the tatami mat across from his father keeping his head low.

"What have you to be report?"

"Hashirama, in my observations, was not conducting any behaviour that can be seen as harmful to the clan. He was, as he says, training. He appeared to be working on a technique that shows great promise but it is a long way off from completion." Not all lies, just twisted versions of the truth. As they had agreed upon.

"I see. . ." But Tobirama could tell that the man was still bothered. Only he had no proof and Tobirama had been the one that was supposed to get him that proof. "You may leave now."

Tobirama got up and started to walk towards the door but he paused just before he reached it. "Otou-san, I will be joining Hashirama from now on."

Then he left, smirking to himself at the slight startled jump in his father. It was reassuring to think that one day, he'd be stronger than the man who willing sent his own sons to die in battle. It was a feeling that made everything seem so much lighter for him, to know that they were going to change this twisted existence and make it better for everyone.

"Come Otouto, let us train. You've fallen far behind." Hashirama teased as he called the younger Senju over. "Let's work on your Water Style jutsu for today."

Tobirama, on one hand was worried that his brother was perhaps setting his heart up for failure. But on the other hand he was also extremely glad that he now knew what his brother was doing; where he was going. He was also more than happy that he could stand by Hashirama's side, train with him because Kami only knew how much he'd missed the older boy.

They were brothers, all that the other had left and they had to move forward together and bring about the change they wanted in this word.

Master one jutsu at a time.

Iron out their weaknesses.

Work to make themselves near invincibility.

All of that started right in that moment.

"Hai Aniki. But can you keep up with me?" Tobirama smiled at his brother and quirked an eyebrow. He was after all, a master at water style. Well, at least, he would be.

.0.0.0.

"Izuna."

The young boy turned at the sound of his name and looked at his father questioningly. "Otou-san?"

"What have you learnt?"

"There is nothing of concern. He trains just as he says he does." Izuna shrugged, watching Madara throw shuriken at a target while simultaneously ignoring their father's presence. "I also wish to accompany him, Otou-san."

"Do as you wish, so long as you do not endanger this clan." A dismissal. The man was far too busy with the affairs of the clan to bother himself with something that in his mind was no longer an issue.

He did not suspect a lie because he had not detected any trace of one. He did not even consider the possibility of omission merely because he was that confident in Izuna's obedience.

But there would come a day where both clan heads of the Senju and the Uchiha were no longer in the seat of power, having given it to their sons. They would see only then, that perhaps, they should've given just a little more of their time to the sons they were hesitant to get close to, hesitant to fully love for fear of losing them as well.

.0.0.0.

"The Uzumaki are coming in a week. I expect you both to be present and presentable." Batsuma stated warningly to the two Senju.

He did not look at them because if he had, they'd have seen the thinning of his lips, the tightening of his jaw as he considered their long absences when not faced with a mission. It was starting to irk the clan head more than it should but others in his council had told him that he should let it go; that the boys were training and that they needed a powerful clan head to lead them in their ever present war against the Uchiha.

But . . .

There was just something about it that irritated him.

He'd considered sending another Shinobi after them but he didn't have the resources to spare. The warring state had reached an all-time high and after Itama's death he was reluctant to send his remaining two sons into the thick of it.

Only if he really had to, he promised to himself. Not knowing he'd unconsciously decided to break that promise already.

.0.0.0.

"Madara! Izuna!" Taijima barked and the two immediately snapped to attention. "Get your armour on. Those blasted Senju are attacking again."

Neither asked who attacked first. They didn't linger.

They ran to their rooms and immediately, far too efficiently, began to pull on the metal pieces that were to help prolong their life. They'd guessed as much that they would be called. They'd seen their clansmen growing more and more frantic.

It had only been a matter of time.

The crimson armour they pulled on now was a sign of the seriousness of the fight they were facing.

Grimly, the brothers faced each other upon exiting their rooms. This was only an event that further served to remind them exactly what they were fighting to achieve. It was an event that reminded them just how desperate they were, so desperate in fact that they were willing to side with the Senju just to achieve it.

.0.0.0.

Hashirama spun in the air, the heel of his foot slamming into the back of an Uchiha's head. The Uchiha he'd just knocked out could have just as easily been killed by him and as it was Hashirama had been hard pressed not to seeing as the Uchiha had been battling his brother.

But the fleeting look of gratitude from Madara a few fights away made him certain that he'd chosen the right course of action.

Tobirama nodded to him and the two stood back to back, a force of pure talent and power in the face of their enemy.

Hashirama's heart twisted in his chest when he watched the Clan head of the Uchiha bark something at Madara before shoving him in their direction. Izuna not far behind.

Their unhappiness could be misinterpreted as battlefield seriousness.

As the four were forced to face each other, now faced with the problem of trying to find a way to end this battle without resulting to deaths, they stared at each other. No one was willing to make the first move.

But Hashirama looked at Madara and the two nodded in understanding.

They leapt at each other at the same time, kunai clashing with kunai. That left Izuna and Tobirama to fight each other, their choice of weapon a katana.

"Finish the Uchiha brat once and for all Hashirama!" Batsuma's voice carried over to the battling Senju who grit his teeth but otherwise ignored the man. "Show me what all that training has done."

"Madara, do not disgrace your clan nor your standing as the Uchiah heir. Cut down that Senju boy and be done with it." Taijima snarled out just as viciously.

"Keep your foul speech to yourself, Uchiha." Batsuma snapped at the Uchiha clan head and the two were battling in a mockery of their sons' fights.

Hashirama felt like crying.

In a single battle he could end up losing it all. This battle was different from the others. He could feel it. The tension, the hostility, it was so much higher.

Madara and Hashirama's attention snapped to their brothers at the same time as their own fathers threw kunai at their enemy's child.

"Izuna!" Madara yelled tossing the kunai he'd been fighting with towards the hurtling projectile.

"Tobi!" Hashirama screamed, also hurling his own kunai.

The two previously battling Senju and Uchiha dashed to their brothers' sides, the fathers growling in suppressed anger at the failure of their plan.

The parallels were once again startling in their obviousness. But that didn't matter.

All that mattered was protecting those precious to them.

"We have to find a way to end this, Madara." Hashirama whispered at the Uchiha while they stood guard over this younger brothers.

"I know." Madara hissed in anger, activating his Sharingan. "How's that Mokuton of yours coming along?"

"Not well. I haven't figured out the right ratio yet." Hashirama spat out bitterly.

Suddenly their world exploded in a shower of lights and clods of earth.

.0.0.0.

Naruto was worried.

He had sensed some rising tension from both the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan so strong that it had reached even his location.

Furthermore, none of the others had come to see him. Something major was happening and he had the worst feeling.

"_Kurama?" _he asked mentally, seeking out the fox.

"_**Uzumaki brat**_." Came the gruff reply.

"_What's happening? Can you sense anything?" _

"_**They're fighting. As is the way of the Era of the War Torn States."**_ Kurama replied nonchalantly._** "It would appear to be quite an intense battle this time."**_

Oh no.

Naruto contemplated his options for a moment before he sat down and stilled both his mind and his body. He had to do something and there was only one thing that was available to him that would both protect those he now called precious and end that battle.

They needed a greater enemy.

Senjutsu, as Madara had informed Naruto, was extremely difficult for the Sharingan to see through. It was potent, bright and generally made the person under its influence look hazy to the Sharingan eye that would normally see chakra as different colours.

Nature energy flooded his system and Naruto immediately felt the chakra signatures he could normally feel magnify and the radius of his sensory ability increase to include that which had eluded him before.

Kurama was right, that battle was intensive.

He had to hurry.

When he felt the physical change take over his body he stopped gathering immediately. He didn't think he'd need to leave clones to gather more simply because he didn't think the Uchiha and the Senju were dumb enough to stick around to fight him while he was in Sage Mode.

He dashed through the trees in the direction of the fight, already scanning the chakra for the four he sought out.

He knew from Hashirama that his Sage Mode no longer resembled that of his previous one and he also couldn't summon toads anymore. He wondered if that was the reason for the change. Kurama had speculated that it was because the Toad Summoning contract had yet to be created.

But all that was irrelevant. He had an entrance to make.

So when he was close enough he stopped to form a single clone, using it to make an Odama Rasengan.

Leaving the clone behind just in case, Naruto leapt as high as he could into the air, and in Sage Mode that was pretty darn high, before falling back to the ground, Odama Rasengan first and slamming it into the largest open space of ground in the entire battlefield.

The ground was rocked hard enough to unbalance the Shinobi and stop their fighting. The earth sprayed upwards in a shower of clods of sand, only to come straight back down, raining on all the ninja present.

Every ninja, Senju and Uchiha, had their entire focus on the single Shinobi who had made such a destructive entrance.

Naruto stood in the centre of a crater, casually brushing the dirt from the cloak he had henged onto himself. For anonymity's sake, he'd henged a hood onto the cloak.

Madara's eyes widened in realisation when he couldn't see much more than a burning bright haze with his Sharingan. He deactivated the Dojutsu and nudged Izuna to do the same.

"Naruto." He whispered very quietly to Hashirama who nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Who are you? State your identity!" Batsuma demanded, looking down into the crater with a hint of fear in his gaze.

"Now I thought it was standard ninja protocol to leave one's name unknown." Naruto drawled in reply, taking on a lazy stance and tilting his head at the Senju Head.

"Your identity became our business when you interrupted our affairs." Taijima snarled.

"Your affairs? But you see, I beg to differ. I live around these parts." Naruto's tone had grown steadily colder as he'd spoken. "You're trespassing on my land."

"This is no man's land. It's a part that all clan disputes are typically fought on." Hashirama interrupted merely because it was to keep up with appearances. In fact he was fighting off a large grin.

"Didn't you hear me just claim it as mine, boy?" Naruto growled at him. "It is my suggestion that you leave. Go home, nurse your wounds, or face my wrath. I can guarantee you, that there are none here that could even hope to match my strength. Not even those who possess the Sharingan."

Batsuma and Taijima looked to each other before snapping their heads away in disgust. They had no choice and they knew it. Anyone could claim no man's land but typically no one claimed all of it. Clans had to fight somewhere and they'd rather not do it on the land they'd fought so viciously for.

It was with a grudging mutual hatred of the person still lounging in the bottom of the crater of his own creation that the two clans fell back. They'd continue their fight another day but for now, they had to gather what knowledge they could on this mysterious Shinobi.

.0.0.0.

It was a whole week before the four could return.

When they did they were staring at Naruto differently and he cringed. He knew he hadn't exactly spelled out the extent of his skill to the others but that didn't mean he'd kept it from them. They merely hadn't asked.

The sad part was, when he was in Sage Mode, he had sensed that there really wasn't anyone on that battlefield that could've beaten him. There were no such things as Jinchuriki so that make Naruto even more miles ahead of the others.

Until that little scuffle, he hadn't actually realised just what kind of a position he found himself in.

He had the power to make everyone obey him.

It was a heady feeling, almost overwhelming and he'd had to suffer with it for a week. Seeing the other four now, helped to remind him that it was the wrong course of action to take.

He had to do this the right way.

"That, I guess, is some of the power of senjutsu." Naruto began with a casual shrug.

"Why didn't you tell us about your power?" Madara asked.

"You never asked. Besides I didn't think it was all that important since I wasn't about to be fighting. Also, where I come from, my power isn't all that amazing. I didn't actually realise that I was so far above you guys. To me, you're still the founders of Konoha, the unbeatable Senju and Uchiha. You guys are legends to me. Sure where I came from, I had power but there were others who had equal power if not more. Like I said, you four will become a force so powerful that you'll build a village and no one will be able to stop you. Do you really think the other clans would just sit by and watch you put an end to the only thing they have known their whole lives?" Naruto replied. "What I did . . . you guys will be more powerful than that."

"What was that jutsu you used?" Izuna asked before either Madara or Hashirama could reply.

"What? The Rasengan?" Naruto tilted his head and the younger Uchiha nodded.

"It's a jutsu that my Otou-san created. It doesn't have any hand signs and its basically pure chakra manipulation." Naruto replied, not quite comfortable in explaining the technique that was originally the Fourth Hokage's.

Hashirama sensed his discomfort first and smiled. "It's an awesome jutsu. I think you'll be rather well known for it."

Naruto laughed nervously at the strange praise before scratching the back of his head. "Well that was just one version of it. Wait till you see my others. They get pretty destructive."

At his casual announcement the four boys sweat dropped and chuckled nervously. Just how insanely powerful was this kid? And he was so . . . . . so humble about it all. He didn't even realise just where he was.

No. Madara looked again, looked carefully. He noticed the slight shake the kid's hands had. He noticed the forming dark rings under his eyes. Naruto realised. He was having a hard time ignoring it though.

"So, you said we'll be more powerful than you?" Madara asked quietly.

"Hai. Remember, there will be those who will seek to darken your vision. You – We need to be prepared for that." Naruto nodded, gaze growing serious. "Therefore, we need to train and keep training, no matter what. My sensei once told me when I was a genin, on my first C-rank mission, that there are people out there, younger than what I was, but more powerful than him. He was pretty powerful himself so at the time it was really hard to believe him." Naruto smiled sadly at the mention of his sensei.

They could all see it. No matter how many happy smiles the boy put on, he still missed his family, his friends. He missed the life he had but he wouldn't leave them, not now. They knew that too. Naruto wouldn't go back, unless they forced him to.

"Hai, so let's get training." Tobirama interrupted with a smirk.

.0.0.0.

Naruto tilted his head as he watched the spar in front of him. Izuna and Tobirama had known each other before they had been asked to follow their older brothers and find out what it was they were hiding. They had met on the battlefield before and according to them, it was only sheer luck that had kept the Uchiha from not killing the Senju and visa versa.

When Madara and Hashirama had heard about that they had both paled but didn't seem too surprised by it, as though meeting each other on the battlefield was really a commonplace occurrence.

It had been three months since that day where Izuna and Tobirama had been told the truth and all five of them had come in leaps and bounds, but they were reaching a point where they were going to have to seek another's help in order to go any further.

It had been nearly five months since Naruto had arrived in this world and he had learnt that he had absolutely no affinity for fire or lightning whatsoever. He did have some affinity for earth and water. They hadn't tested Yin and Yang yet but the Kyuubi had assured him that he had Yang chakra in spades; or rather the Kyuubi's Yang chakra.

The others had come to accept that what Naruto had told them of their strengths were indeed their strengths and hadn't wasted time trying to see if there were others.

Except for Tobirama who, Naruto came to realise, was extremely fast. It got Naruto thinking about the Yondaime. If Jiraiya had been taught by the Sandaime and he in turn had been taught by the Nidaime, then it was safe to assume that the knowledge of the Nidaime's skills would have been passed down from teacher to student, even if it had only been in the form of stories meant for nothing more than entertainment. Was it possible that his father had seen the second Hokage as something of a role model?

He'd come to realise that there were something things that Minato had done that emulated Tobirama to some extent. Like the sensing ability and now the speed. So that got him thinking to things that reached outside his knowledge. Just what had Tobirama created and what had his father emulated? He didn't even know what element his father was.

He came to wonder who had created the Kage Bunshin, or the henge or even the replacement jutsu. It was impossible to say and now it was lost to them because Naruto knew the four who had had quite possibly been the creators and was teaching it to the others.

Kage Bunshin however, was still a little out of their reach. At most they could create five. Five was still way better than anyone that Naruto knew. It helped with their training though, the five that they had made. It also showed Naruto the gap between his generation and theirs. They were so far ahead already and they didn't even realise it.

Naruto had taught them all he could but he wasn't very well versed in the areas they were pursing. His help mostly started and stopped with a few jutsu, such as the standard Academy jutsu. Naruto himself didn't exactly have a vast collection of jutsu and since he wasn't about to teach them the Rasengan his knowledge was only further cut down.

It meant only one thing.

Soon they wouldn't be coming here anymore.

Soon they'd been training under someone else.

Soon they'd agree to only meet on the battlefield. Waiting for the right time to end it all.

. . . . . but where did that leave Naruto?

"Mito-chan's coming tomorrow." Hashirama happily informed the blond as they watched together.

The older Senju had a silly grin on his face, a grin that had steadily been growing sillier and sillier with every mention of the Uzumaki. They didn't see each other often. Travelling was dangerous but that didn't mean Hashirama was any less fond of her.

Naruto smiled warmly for the older boy. He was happy for him and loved seeing the Senju so excited. In this state of war and death, it was rare. Naruto had occasionally accompanied either the Uchiha or the Senju on their missions and he'd learnt just how brutal it was. He'd learnt what it truly meant to be a Shinobi and was shocked at the change that Hashirama and Madara and brought about in the world that he'd grown up in.

Konoha, he realised now more than ever, was a place he loved with all his heart and he'd do anything to protect it. Hashirama had even gone so far as to kill Madara in order to protect it and now Naruto understood.

.0.0.0.

"Hashirama-san." Mito stated with a bow. She was standing with her father, trying her best to be formal. Her mother was absent this time and Hashirama was glad for that.

It meant he could talk to Mito alone while their fathers discussed clan affairs. This would be perhaps his fourth time seeing the Uzumaki and he was rather excited about that.

"Lady Mito." Hashirama greeted with a bow of his own, trying to keep the grin off his face. He supposed he could say Mito-san, but he just like Lady Mito better. Sounded far more feminine.

He watched almost impatiently as his father greeted hers. He pointedly ignored Tobirama's teasing smirk as the other boy watched from behind the Uzumaki delegation.

"I trust all has been going well for you." Mito continued, making polite conversation as was expected of her.

"Yes, quite. My training has been especially fruitful." Hashirama responded, falling into clan formalities instinctively. He'd been raised as the clan heir after all. All he and his brothers had because ultimately, any one of them could die on any mission or in any battle.

"I am glad." Mito smiled warmly. "I hope your missions go well also."

Hashirama wanted to tear his hair out. He could see the strain of formalities taking its toll on the red haired girl and he mentally urged his father to get over the formalities already and just move into the meeting room.

By the time they finally did manage to get away, Hashirama was sure he'd developed several tics, all of which Mito found extremely entertaining.

"Man that ninja can talk!" Hashirama exploded once he was sure he was a good distance away and wouldn't be heard.

A soft chuckle told him Tobirama had followed as well.

"You seem happier Tobirama-kun. It's in your chakra. More at peace." Mito observed curiously. But with her statement, the two froze, their chakra growing very nervous.

"Ah, so whatever had made you happier is a secret." Mito mused. "One that should not be known. Is it dangerous?"

"No. Just not to be known, not yet." Hashirama replied quietly.

"But." Tobirama began thoughtfully. He turned his gaze to Hashirama and Mito was amazed at the level of communication they had with just that simple look.

"It could work." Hashirama mused. He turned to Mito suddenly and grinned. "Tell me a little more about the Wandering Uzumaki Fraction, please."

"The Wandering Uzumaki Fraction? Well it's a group of Uzumaki that don't stay with the rest of the clan, choosing to explore the elemental nations instead. They learn more about sealing and jutsu in general. Sometimes they don't come back for years." Mito explained, obliging the Senju brothers with a shrug.

"So it really wouldn't be uncommon to meet an Uzumaki outside of the clan?" Tobirama asked carefully.

"Not really." Mito agreed. "Does this have to do with your secret?"

"I love her more and more every day." Hashirama sighed with a silly grin on his face. "Yes, it does."

"You know a Wandering Uzumaki?" Mito gushed in excitement, eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Not much of an Uzumaki if you ask me, doesn't know anything about sealing." Tobirama scoffed.

Mito gasped in horror. "Doesn't know sealing?! Now I just have to meet him."

"You're going to love this one." Hashirama winked. "He's blond."

"Blond?" Mito squealed. "An untrained blond Uzumaki! You're the best fiancé ever! I love the presents you get me." Mito yelled before rushing at the older Senju and pulling him into a tight hug.

Tobirama shuddered slightly. He felt his heart go out to Naruto for those last foreboding statements from Mito. But they'd all realised that they were going to need to split up soon. Naruto needed to go somewhere and this was the foundation.

Placing him with the Uzumaki would actually be doing the blond a favour. There really wasn't a clan like them and Naruto would be right at home. He wouldn't even realise just what he was missing till he had it given to him.

Also, the skills he could learn from the Uzumaki were not something he would be able to learn anywhere else. From Naruto's own words, this was not something he'd get in his own time either. Hashirama and Tobirama had been discussing this particular course of action for some time now and had decided to place Naruto within the Uzumaki because then it would be three powerful clans coming together and not just two. They would have the sealing expertise of the Uzumaki from the start, building a defence like no other clan or village would ever have and essentially save the Uzumaki from their bloody fate.

Since Mito was the clan head's daughter, and was now marrying into the Senju clan, there was a need for a new heir. A need that had yet to be realised completely. If things went as the Senju brothers hoped it did, Naruto would become that heir and in so doing, lead the Uzumaki people to Konoha.

It was a chance they felt was too good to pass up.

The Uzumaki were weird, in that they wouldn't ask too many questions. They'd be able to pass this off and it had to start with Mito. She was the daughter of the clan head, and truly the man's only weakness. She asked, and she was given.

Mito never asked often though, so that made it all so much easier. The Clan head would be delighted with the chance to give his darling baby girl whatever she wanted. She was independent, trying not to ask if she could help it.

The Uzumaki Head was also getting up there in his years, even for an Uzumaki. He'd left settling down for the last minute, which was why he only had the one daughter and no true heir to the clan. He wouldn't be able to last too much longer either, not in this war torn state, so it was essential that they integrated Naruto into their clan as soon as possible.

As Tobirama watched Mito chatter in excitement about all the possible things she could teach to Naruto he smiled very faintly. Placing Naruto with the Uzumaki would be good for him.

Neither of the four had missed the loneliness deep within those blue eyes. He hid it well but they were trained, from the earliest of ages to read their enemy. They all saw it.

No matter what Naruto said, his childhood had been just as painful as theirs.

They were going to change that.

"So tell me more about this blond Uzumaki?" Mito asked with a happy giggle and Hashirama pursed his lips in contemplation, thinking deeply for a moment before grinning broadly and launching into a rather lengthy explanation of Naruto's character, minus part where he came from the future and grew up in a world that doesn't exist, not yet. "Well, he's older than me, and he's really good at sensing, I mean really good and he . . ."

.0.0.0.


	6. Chapter 6

**This chapter was beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow**

**Thanks for reading and reviewing. Thanks for reading in general. Much appreciated. **

**What it takes to be Hokage**

**Chapter 6**

Naruto perked up from his position on the ground. Tobirama was coming alone and that had never happened before.

The blond had been balanced on his hands, trying to practise his ability to stay still enough to safely collect nature energy from any and all positions. He was also trying to learn how to entre Sage Mode faster. It would really help while in actual combat situations.

As Tobirama approached, he tilted his attention towards the other ninja, facing him when he broke into the clearing.

"What's up Tobi-kun?" Naruto asked with a wide grin knowing exactly how much Tobirama enjoyed Hashirama and Mito's pet name for him.

"Don't call me that." He grumbled as he approached. "And Hashirama is with Mito."

Naruto smiled at that. He was glad the older Senju was able to spend time with the girl that was to be his wife. He was STILL baffled about that one but he didn't comment. After all he was from a completely different time, with different customs and traditions. He really didn't have much say.

"So what bring you here? Want to spar?" Naruto asked brightly, getting into a teasing stance.

Tobirama remained serious as he waved a hand to placate the excitable teen. "No, not right now. Perhaps a little later. I actually came here to tell you about something Hashirama and I have been discussing for some time now." The white haired Senju explained.

Naruto sensed the seriousness in the boy's chakra. Well Tobirama was always serious but today he was even more so. It prompted the blond to sit down, gesturing for Tobirama to do the same.

"The Uzumaki clan is very closely allied with the Senju clan, almost like extended family in a sense. You already know this." Tobirama began.

"Hai." Naruto agreed wondering where exactly this was going.

"That aside for the moment, all five of us have come to the same realisation, even though none of us have exactly discussed it."

"That we're going to have to split up soon, and seek training elsewhere." Naruto stated quietly, and the Senju nodded solemnly.

"Hai. As such, Madara and Izuna will receive training from their clan and the same is likewise for my brother and I. Your clan, the Uzumaki, was not something you've ever experienced. Hashirama and I got to thinking that perhaps, there's a way to get you a clan of your own, some place you can go to and call home until Konoha is built." Tobirama gave him a soft smile. "I imagine that with the destruction of the Uzumaki clan, a lot of their records were lost as well?"

Naruto merely nodded. There wasn't much he could say about the Uzumaki and he felt ashamed about that fact. He was, after all, one of the only surviving members. Well in his time he had been.

"Thought as much. Anyways, within the Uzumaki, there are a group of Shinobi and non-Shinobi alike, who travel the Elemental Nations, under no one's control or influence but their own. They seek new things, new sealing methods, new jutsu. It isn't always very specific and the Uzumaki are a clan not much like any other. They're called the Wandering Fraction." Tobirama elaborated, his tone growing if possible even more serious than before. "Years can go by before a group of them will check in with the Clan Head. They all have ridiculously long lifespans so it's not uncommon to find that an Uzumaki's perception of time differs greatly than that of, say, a Senju. I suppose it doesn't help that they're very energetic and can't really sit still for long periods of time."

"How does this apply to me?" Naruto asked, a small idea flickering to life in the back of his mind.

"To the Uzumaki, family means everything. To them, they're brothers and sisters, not merely a clan. Your chakra will gain you access. They will accept you without much questioning. We've already laid the foundations. All that's left now, is the introductions." Tobirama replied and Naruto tried not to choke in surprise.

"When?" He managed to wheeze out.

The Uzumaki!

He was going to go train with the Uzumaki.

"Madara and Izuna." Tobirama muttered. "We'll have to say good bye to them first. They already know this is coming, this separation. We could all feel it." Tobirama sighed.

"I guess we could, and we didn't need sensing abilities to do that either." Naruto replied quietly, turning his gaze to the sky. "It's sad to think that the next time we really see each other, after we say good bye, will be as enemies on the battlefield."

"Only until we're all the clan heads of our respective families." Tobirama offered, trying to lighten the mood. "I mean, the Uzumaki are in need of an heir and the fact that there hasn't been one announced yet means that Mito's father is still looking for someone to impress him. You have that uncanny knack for shocking the hell out of people. I bet if you just did that meditation thing that you do, then they'll worship you as a living Kami. They can't comprehend sitting still for so long. It's just not in their nature which makes me surprised that you learnt the ability at all." Tobirama cracked a smile at the small joke but Naruto burst out laughing. For some reason, when it was said by the younger Senju, it was always so much funnier.

But the laugh itself was tainted with the sad realisation of their reality.

The next time they all saw each other together, that was good-bye.

.0.0.0.

The air was heavily with the tension of what could not be said.

Silence had reigned for nearly ten minutes and Naruto bit his bottom lip before sticking out his hand and offering it to the Uchiha brothers. "Stay safe. Kick ass, but stay safe." He said with a large grin.

Madara blinked at him before a slow, small smile tugged at his lips.

"_**And to think that's the brat that tries to take over your world**_." Kyuubi scoffed from the far corners of Naruto's mind.

"_Shut it Fuzzball_." Naruto replied mentally, grasping Madara's hand and giving it a firm shake.

He and the Kyuubi had gotten to the point where they spoke outside of his mindscape and it mostly consisted of the Fox voicing his opinions on the Uchiha. They weren't always very nice.

"Till the moment we're ready." Madara stated quietly, his meaning all too clear. _Till the moment we're strong enough to build Konoha_.

The moment Madara let go of his hand, Izuna and the older Uchiha disappeared, using their newly learned Shunshin. Something that not even Naruto had known in his time, having never really been taught the jutsu due to being occupied with learning other things.

Hashirama had fallen into a state of depression, while Tobirama steadily ignored that fact. The younger Senju grasped Naruto's shoulder before letting go and gesturing for them to start walking.

Naruto was going to be meeting the Senju Clan today and to say he was nervous, would be the understatement of all understatements. He fiddled with the bag that contained the meagre amount of things he'd managed to accumulate while in this world. Among them being his original clothing (as he now wore something a little less orange and something far more standard for the time period he was in. He had however, refused to give up the shoes), the kunai and shuriken from his time, the shards of the First Hokage's necklace, the odd wooden cylinder that upon inspection had revealed to have been created by Hashirama and to have a seal complex integrated into its design and his copy of Ero-sennin's book, the one that had given him his name.

Maybe that was why they didn't run through the trees, hopping from branch to branch. They walked along the ground like any civilian would, moving at about the same pace. Naruto wasn't sure if this actually made him feel better or worse. The anticipation though, of meeting both the Senju and the Uzumaki, was almost unbearable.

There was Batsuma, a man who could easily and often did, send children to their deaths. Not that he had any choice, Naruto just couldn't see past that fact.

Then there were the Uzumaki, a clan Naruto was a part of but essentially knew nothing about.

Hashirama and Tobirama had refused to say anything. All they'd said was that the Uzumaki were different and that Naruto would understand once he got there. He didn't know what the hell the two had said to their father and the Uzumaki Clan Head and he really hoped he didn't screw up, but he was just glad that no one was deciding to kill him on sight.

That was more than a relief.

He did realise that by officially joining a clan, there was no going back. He was in this till the end. He would become a part of history. It had only really hit him that he wasn't going back the night after Tobirama had told him he was going to the Uzumaki. He wasn't going to see his friends ever again. Essentially, he wouldn't live long enough. And even if he did, he'd probably be senile or something. He wouldn't even recognise them.

And they wouldn't know him.

It was a rather depressing thought.

But he accepted it because honestly, what could he do to change it?

So he couldn't change where he was, but it wasn't like he minded. The Senju and the Uchiha had become family to him, forming bonds as tight and if not tighter than the ones he'd had with Sasuke.

They were going to build Konoha together, bringing the Uzumaki, the Senju and the Uchiha together and start the process of peace. It was all Naruto could ask for, it was all he would strive for.

But he's realised that by joining a clan, he'd also have to join the wars. He could only hope that he didn't have to kill anyone. Knock them out, sure, but kill? He really, really hoped that he wouldn't have to resort to such extremes.

.0.0.0.

Naruto was shocked, silently shocked, that the Uzumaki Clan Head was a tall skinny old man with a long beard. His hair was very nearly completely grey as his general expression seemed to be a peaceful sleepiness. Naruto immediately liked the man, even though he'd been expecting someone a little more . . . boisterous.

"You have the Uzumaki chakra alright." Mito whistled. "More than most in fact. Kami loved you."

"Hush Mito-chan. Not just yet." The Clan Head placed a wrinkled hand on his daughter's head and she snuggled into his side, demanding an embrace.

Naruto was sweating bullets while Hashirama and Tobirama watched from the side lines, laughing their asses off _silently_. They were laughing so hard they were clutching at their ribs but they had to remain quiet because they didn't want to attract Batsuma's attention.

The man just looked like he had a sour disposition and Naruto could not find it within himself to fully trust him, as he no doubt did not trust Naruto.

"So, you are part of the Wandering Fraction." The Uzumaki Head commented.

A stray thought entered Naruto's mind and he paused to consider it for the briefest of moment. If there were so many wandering Uzumaki, it would explain why every now and then an Uzumaki would pop up out of nowhere in Naruto's time. But he didn't dwell on it. This was an important conversation.

"Hai. Well my parents more than me, but they were attacked by an enemy clan while I was away, looking for some ingredient or other, my mother liked to cook you see, and she had a rather specific taste. When I got back . . ." Naruto let his voice trail off regretfully.

"That is most unfortunate. I regret your position Gaki." The Clan Head's voice was deeper than his skinny stature suggested it would be and Naruto got the impression that it would really boom if it needed to.

"Nah. It's ohkay. Mostly." Naruto allowed pain to overcome his voice before hastily clearing it away. "They always spoke of the clan. Never said too much about it, just passing remarks. I'm afraid I don't even know much about my heritage. My mother always said she'd teach me later, when I was older but–" He allowed his voice to choke off at that point. In his mind he had to be careful as to what he was referring to because while his words were lies when seen as merely his words, his thoughts were not. For instance Jiraiya had been the one to tell him he'd teach Naruto Sealing but had died before he could. If he outright lied, the sensors would pick it up and the Uzumaki were full of them.

"So you don't know Sealing?" Mito whispered, her eyes wide throughout the tale. Naruto shook his head at that but got confused when her chakra began to whip around in excitement at that. She was very good at containing herself however.

"Well then, Gaki, I guess we should get you started. An Uzumaki who doesn't at least know some sealing isn't much of an Uzumaki at all." A hand clamped down on his shoulder and Naruto glanced at it in surprise before a large grin spread on his face.

"Tell me first though," The Clan Head's chakra was the one whipping around in excitement this time and Naruto bit his bottom lip to keep his amusement in. "How is it that you have blond hair?"

Mito's father's expression reminded Naruto of an excited child told to behave or he wouldn't get his present. What was the big deal? Tsunade-Baachan had been blond and she was Mito's granddaughter.

"My father. He wasn't Uzumaki." Naruto shrugged. He'd also been told, at some stage in his life by Sakura, that the red hair gene was regressive, possibly re-appearing in his lineage many generations down. But hadn't the Uzumaki been known for their fiery red? Oh well, it was as it was.

"Was he a Shinobi?" Mito asked curiously.

"Hai. He taught me one of his best moves."_ No, Jiraiya did. _"My Okaa-chan was also a very good Shinobi but I didn't learn much other than her taijutsu style." He'd been told the two were similar. "They always said we have time." He added with a shrug.

Hashirama had told him that the Uzumaki's perception of time was warped. His exact words had been _"Actually the Uzumaki are . . . a bit different. I think you'll understand once I get you in there." _ They lived so ridiculously long that to them, most things could and usually would wait till later. But they did know when it was time to get serious. Like when Mito had loudly informed her father that Hashirama and Tobirama had found a lost Uzumaki, the members of the clan that had been visiting, delayed their departure long enough for Naruto to get there.

"Ah, such is the unfortunate fate of all living things; time is your own, until it is not." The Clan Head murmured and strangely enough, it made sense to Naruto, but he could see from the Senju's faces that while they did not really understand the words, they were used to them.

"_What if they don't believe me?" Naruto blurted. The sixteen year old had never been good with rejection. _

"_Then you run like hell and when I become clan head I'll let you become a Senju. Mito can teach you sealing." Hashirama smirked, an expression he'd learned from Madara. _

The conversation came unbidden to Naruto's mind and his smile widened. So far, he felt completely at ease, most of his earlier tension having been sapped away by the surprisingly comforting presence of the Uzumaki Clan Head.

Mito suddenly leaned towards Naruto, sniffing him closely before turning back to her father.

"He's got a lot of chakra. And his potential is perhaps the greatest in the clan." She stated in confusion. "Unless I'm wrong."

"Do you have any sensing abilities, Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Hai somewhat. Hashirama said it was an Uzumaki thing but I'm afraid I don't even know very much about being an Uzumaki." Naruto admitted sadly before his tone hardened. "I'm willing to learn though, Dattebayo!" Naruto's determination was shining in his eyes in all its glory and Hashirama smiled at the sight. That boy really was something.

His exclamation seemed to have confirmed something for the watching Uzumaki because they all burst out laughing. "Welcome home brother." The clan head said with a hearty laugh. "No one could fake the chakra and that little catch phrase. It's just too much of a reflex in most Uzumaki." Naruto found himself in a bone crushing hug from someone much shorter than him and was surprised that Mito had such strength. "Tonight, brothers and sisters, we celebrate the return of one of our own and the presence of our Senju cousins!"

"A feast?" Tobirama muttered eyes lighting up with recognition. The two brothers had moved closer to Naruto, as the Clan Head had made his declaration. Dark eyes turned to the blond in an expression of utter adoration. "I love you man, I officially love you."

"Hashirama?" Naruto squeaked in alarm, not at all used to seeing that sort of behaviour from the younger and usually more stoic Senju. Mito finally detached herself from him so that she could attach herself to the older Senju.

"You'll understand once you try their cooking. They have some Kami given talent for food. It's . . . . Indescribably amazing." Hashirama's eyes had sort of glazed over and Naruto figured he wasn't going to get any more than that. He wondered if anyone had managed ramen yet.

"Come Brother!" A male Uzumaki happily grabbed Naruto. "You must learn Sealing, something, anything!, before the night wanes, and a happy sun greets us tomorrow. I will teach you myself!"

"NO!" Tobirama yelled. He coughed when he noticed his audience. "I think perhaps, it would be better, if you introduced Naruto-kun to some of the more 'finer' delicacies that life has to offer." The strained statement appeared to Naruto as though the younger Senju was borrowing the Uzumaki he was addressing's words.

The Uzumaki paused for a moment before nodding to himself and smiling brilliantly. "Yosh! I shall go start cooking immediately."

"He's the best cook." Hashirama informed a confused Naruto.

Tobirama turned a horrified gaze towards them. "And to think he almost didn't cook tonight." The Senju cut off with a shiver.

Sooner or later, Naruto was going to have to learn all their names.

But from what he'd seen, they reminded him of Gai-sensei. No wonder he didn't mind the Jonin's antics so much. They were in his blood.

Why wasn't Nagato this fun?

.0.0.0.

Naruto got to try first-hand the Uzumaki's prowess in the metaphorical kitchen.

The Uzumaki were blessed by Kami indeed! This was almost better than Ichiraku Ramen! Dattebayo. Almost.

His mouth had felt like it was in the heavenly wonders of all things gracious in this world.

Naruto resigned himself to learning how to cook as well. When the food was just this good, there was no wasting a chance like this. Besides, he did know how to make ramen so this was only adding to his knowledge. You just simply could not argue with good food. And his decision to learn the Uzumaki way of life in all areas, including cooking, seemed to make the Uzumaki even more welcoming of him, if that were even possible, since he'd voiced it to Mito but he'd never been the softest person so they'd all heard him.

Naruto found that the Uzumaki had some amazing recipes for inarizushi as well as some other things that he thought Madara might like. (Izuna did whatever Madara did so he figured their taste is food was similar) So he wrote them down and sent a shadow clone with them to the Uchiha compound to give them to Madara. Since most of the Shinobi didn't know something as basic as a henge and the Uchiha were too arrogant to use their Sharingan while in their own compound, Naruto went relatively undetected.

Madara decided to learn how to cook as well, surprising those in his family.

Naruto snickered when he thought about what the history books would say about them: Insanely powerful, glorious in battle, the greatest ninja to ever walk the elemental nations since the Sage of Six paths and coincidentally would make very nice housewives.

.0.0.0.

Naruto, to the Uzumaki, was like a toy, a new shiny_ blond_ toy.

Everyone wanted to teach him something of anything and he'd never experienced that before. From failing at the Academy to bribing Jiraiya into deeming him something worth training for the chunin exams, Naruto had never been given help without asking so freely before.

On the way there, someone came up to him and said "I'm going to teach you how to run."

"Run?" Came the somewhat stoic reply.

"Yes, run. Now before you scoff, just know, you don't know how to run until you've had to run from a bunch of angry Akimichi whom you've just ruined their dinner. Simply running is not enough. Ask any Uzumaki, they'll tell you what happened."

Naruto couldn't help but laugh at that. He could only imagine what an angry Akimichi was like. But that wasn't all his new clan members wanted to teach him. They seemed particularly sore about his not knowing any sealing.

Mito came up to him at some point and the attention subsided slightly. "They're trying to distract you. Is it working?" She asked quietly.

"Distract me, from what?" Naruto blinked in confusion.

"Your pain. You hide it well behind large smiles, but we can sense that in here." She placed a hand over his heart, "You are in pain."

Naruto froze for a moment before relaxing and giving the younger Uzumaki girl a bright smile. "I will be alright. You shouldn't worry about me."

"Losing family is painful. You pain is our pain, as is the way of the Uzumaki. You'll come to understand soon enough." Mito informed him with a sagely nod.

Sensors. They were all sensors and a person's chakra reflected their inner thoughts to some extent, and depending on the sensor, they would be able to pick up on this. Well, Naruto was going to have a hard time keeping secrets. Or maybe they'd allow him to keep his past to himself.

.0.0.0.

Colours. That was the first word that popped into Naruto's mind upon entering the Uzumaki compound. Everything was utterly plastered with the brightest of colours.

If they were going for stealth, they'd fail miserably.

He noticed though, that none of the colours on the buildings were red. That honour was left to their iconic hair.

Now that he was actually within the walls of the compound, those that offered to teach him doubled their efforts in earnest.

Naruto didn't know what to do so he did a rough estimation of the amount of people that were eager to impart their knowledge to him and created as many Kage Bunshin.

There was instant silence, fascinated and curious silence.

"They pop pretty easily." Naruto explained with a hand moving to the back of his head to rub at it sheepishly. He poked a clone a little too hard. "See? But I get all their memoires when they return to me."

"So I could teach any one of these and it'll go back to you?" Mito asked with wide eyes.

"Hai." Naruto agreed. "If you want, you can try it. Just go with one of them to where I can't see you and then dispel it."

"Nah, I trust you. It's your loss if it doesn't work because we may live long, but we're impatient as ever. We'll only teach you once." Mito grinned at him.

A puff of smoke somewhere near the back and a ghost of a giggle informed Naruto, that his clones were now the newest form of entertainment for the rather excitable clan of red haired Shinobi.

.0.0.0.

"So, tell me Gaki," Naruto looked up from his task as the quiet yet deep voice addressed him. He'd also slowly gotten used to the fact that most of the Uzumaki referred to him as Gaki. He supposed that to them, his sixteen years of age hardly meant anything at all. "How does the learning go?" The Clan Head continued.

Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. He'd been at the Uzumaki compound for a week, mostly just trying to get used to this new way of life.

"It's going well, considering the new favourite pass time is to pop the clones by using creative and elaborate pranks. I'm waiting for the day one of those pranks actually catch the real me." Naruto answered with a smile to show he meant no real harm in the words.

The Clan Head chuckled. "It is a rather interesting technique and you use it well. It suits the Uzumaki greatly." He hummed to himself. "The information must be quite exhausting to simulate though."

Naruto shook his head at the older Uzumaki, noting the concern in the Clan Head's tone and feeling warmth spread through his chest because of it. "I'm used to it and, besides, I just meditate at the end of the day, give it all time to settle in my mind and stay where it's supposed to." Naruto explained with a soft smile.

"Meditate? That absurd practise of sitting still?"

Naruto laughed, having felt that way about meditation himself. He'd ignored Iruka-sensei when the man had tried so diligently to explain the benefits to him, and he'd always goofed off when Kakashi-sensei had tried to get the team to have relaxation time or something like that. When Ero-sennin had been writing his books he'd often suggested Naruto meditate, perhaps his own way of trying to prepare Naruto for Sage training.

Problem was, each time Naruto had scoffed it off and deemed it a waste of time, until he'd been forced to learn the technique the Sage Mode way. No movement at all, and to the Uzumaki, the idea was utterly unthinkable.

"It's helpful." Naruto shrugged, not about to get into a debate about senjutsu.

"If you say so Gaki." The Clan Head replied doubtfully. "However," He began with a twinkle in his eyes and a small mischievous smile on his lips, "It'll be quite the party trick, sitting still that is."

And Naruto supposed that it would. Mito especially would probably love it. He wondered if any of the others could actually sit still like he could.

He'd noticed that fairly quickly. They fidgeted more than he did. They reminded them of when he was younger. He hadn't really understood how much he'd matured until he'd come here.

He was a quiet soul among the loud affections of a family larger than anything Naruto had ever dared to hope for.

He'd walk through the compound, amazed at the simple everyday life activities.

A group of giggling girls, comparing the results of their tie-dye, would be sitting in a yard while their mothers sat a small distance away, laughing and talking of things Naruto could only guess at. But by their boisterous body language he got the idea that it was exciting and eventful.

Men would walk arm in arm, singing to the skies just because they could. Occasionally a red haired Uzumaki woman would join in, adding a harmony to the mix that was lacking with only the deep rowdy tones of the men. Or a particularly opinionated and aggressive woman would loudly proclaim they were being publically indecent and proceed to whack them upside the head but smiling sweetly all the while.

There were friendly brawls in the streets, laughing spectators cheering the bawdy fighters on.

And bawdy they were. Decorum meant nothing! They said what they wanted and when they wanted, a lie never passing their lips nor even crossing their minds. They were honest to each other and that made them all so much closer. A true bond that cultivated an understanding beyond anything Naruto had ever seen before.

Naruto had been particularly delighted with the way everyone greeted the other with loud, enthusiastic waves and well wishes. Everyone actually and truly _cared_ for the other. He wouldn't say that the Konoha he'd grown up in was a cold and cruel world, but the people had been their own, relying on those immediately around them and giving help to an even more select few.

Shinobi had been bound by a sense of duty and trained in a set of morals and bound by a code they'd sworn themselves to.

That was not the same as an essential stranger walking up to a person and handing them a stick of dango merely because they looked like they were thinking of getting some.

It, Naruto had come to realise, was extremely rude to not accept a gift among the Uzumaki and a refusal was a reflection on one's inner feelings towards the other.

This emotional connection was centred on the sensing ability. Not all Uzumaki had it but enough of them did that it was hard to hide anything; to keep secrets; to lie. So they'd changed and adapted, forced to become a family deeply connected to each other so that it was no longer necessary to lie. Each sensor was different; had a different radius and strength. Naruto cheerfully learnt that his was one of the strongest in the clan, with the potential to grow even stronger.

So there never was a moment alone, never a moment of privacy.

It did not, could not, exist in their world.

A technique known by one was more than likely to be known by most.

If one needed help, all Uzumaki would offer it to you.

. . . Betraying one member, was like betraying them all.

Naruto hadn't really sat down and thought about it all, the complexities that were the Uzumaki.

He'd only been there a week so he still hadn't learnt everything, experienced all that there was in the Uzumaki clan. He was standing at the foot of a mountain, about to climb it. The plan had been for him to become the clan head which would mean impressing the right people and catching up on all the things he was 16 years behind on and had essentially never known.

He had to learn their ways, their culture. They did missions too and he was sure that he'd be sent out on those sooner or later.

He knew he wouldn't be able to leave the compound with at least one person knowing about it. So that meant his training was completely open to the clan.

He didn't want to think about that because he was afraid his thoughts would lead him down a dark path neither he nor the Uzumaki deserved. Was he alright with the whole clan knowing all his strengths and weaknesses?

"**Brat.**" Kurama's voice only served to further remind him that there was more that he had to worry about. Would they treat him differently because he was a Jinchuriki, something no one in this world even had a concept of? "**You're forgetting that you are supposedly of the Wandering Fraction. All you need do is tell them that you're not used to staying in one place and they may let you wander the surroundings on your own.**"

"_Thanks Kurama._" Naruto replied with a mental grin at the fox.

Currently he was learning a dotonjutsu, which he had a small affinity for. He even had some affinity for water but absolutely not affinity for lightning or fire. That was another thing about the Uzumaki, they were completely varied in their affinities. They weren't like the Uchiha or the Nara in that everyone was pretty much guaranteed to be the same.

What they did share was the ability to do fuinjutsu, kenjutsu, sensing, high stamina and their longevity.

Naruto planned to master as much as he could as fast as he could. He didn't have time to waste. He needed to prove that he was worthy of being the Clan Head. He also had to keep in mind that his end goal was Konoha, with _both_ Madara and Hashirama; the Uchiha and the Senju. He needed to remain focused on those things.

He'd only been here for a week, so he was still learning, but from what he'd seen so far, he liked it. This was his family, and he was their brother. This was his home away from homes.


	7. Chapter 7

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**Edit: Beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow**

**What it takes to be Hokage**

**Chapter 7**

Naruto never spammed the shadow clone technique more than he spammed it while with the Uzumaki. He created about three clones per Shinobi willing to teach him anything in fuinjutsu, which was almost all of them, as most of them took his lack of sealing knowledge like a personal insult. They were particularly interested in that technique but they never asked Naruto to teach it which Naruto found weird but he never said anything about it. If they wanted to know how to do the Kage Bunshin technique, then they would ask.

The original Naruto asked one of the earth style Uzumaki to create a spike for him, like the ones he had learned how to meditate on with the toads. And that was where he sat while his clones learnt the art of fuinjutsu, keeping still so that his mind could absorb all that he learnt.

The Uzumaki admired the fact that he could be still for such long periods of time and Naruto was amazed that none of them had ever considered meditating. They were all brilliant in intellect but not one of them could sit very still for very long. While he meditated he could always, at any given moment in the day, sense several Uzumaki watching him intently. It was the most entertaining thing for them, aside from popping his clones.

Naruto had been invited to speak with the Head of the clan on many occasions and after six months with the Uzumaki he became his personal apprentice, something he was told was a great honour. Naruto had a silly grin plastered on his features for over two weeks.

Mito was the one to teach him the Uzumaki customs. Naruto thought it was hilarious that they had the most lax way of being formal he'd ever seen. He'd been to a few of the clan compounds later on in his life with Shikamaru, Choji, Ino and Kiba, so he knew that it was quite the occasion to have guests over to dinner.

The second time Naruto had been brought before the clan head he'd sweated bullets, trying to remember how to be formal, since the first time he'd been far too concerned with his surroundings and the words that he'd been saying. It wasn't easy and he'd gotten a full belly laugh for his troubles. After that Naruto came to realise that the Uzumaki had a different sort of culture, one that was intriguing and meaningful. They were all family to each other. They gave without expecting anything in return. Yet Naruto knew that they had a temper that could rival the Kyuubi's. He'd seen it in action when a husband returned home late from a night out with the guys. His wife, well, he wondered if his own father had had to endure a temper like that.

But an Uzumaki temper was the very definition of passion. It burned hot and it burned bright but it also burned out very quickly. It was there and then it wasn't; only after a suitable punishment had been delivered.

Turned out the Uzumaki were also proficient at kenjutsu and most of them had great fun popping Naruto's shadow clones with many different kinds of swords, much to the blonde's annoyance since they usually did it while he was learning something. Naruto himself had fun showing them just what stealth meant. When asked why anyone would ever want to hide their presence, he replied, "To create the ultimate prank." And that was how a whole range of new stealth seals were created.

Naruto missed Hashirama, Tobirama, Izuna and Madara like it was nobody's business. He wished he could go to them, talk with them and train with them, but it was never that simple. He knew he would just have to be patient and that had never been his strong point.

Naruto was with the Uzumaki for exactly eight months before they were reminded that outside their compound, clans were still at war with each other. It wasn't that Naruto had forgotten. It was more like the Uzumaki didn't appear to take as much of an active role. Not as much as the Uchiha and the Senju had.

"Honourable One, there is a breach in the barrier to the east. We estimate three of a higher class."

Naruto looked up from the seal he and the Head of the Clan were studying. He sighed and looked away. He really hated these petty fights.

"Well then, they shall have to be dealt with, reminded why it's foolish to mess with the Uzumaki. Perhaps, brother Naruto can go with two others. We have yet to see him in battle. It is still undetermined which fighting style he uses." The Clan Head mused.

"As you order Honourable One." Naruto replied with a bow. The Uzumaki were pretty strict on respect and you wouldn't get it if you didn't deserve it but you sure as hell better give it.

Naruto stood at the gates of the compound, waiting for his assigned teammates. He had walked there slowly, deep in his own thoughts. Would he have to kill those that had intruded? It would not be the first time he killed but he still did not want to.

However, he Madara, Izuna, Tobirama and Hashirama and decided it was time to start making a name for themselves. After all, the first half of their plan was to get strong enough to protect their village which meant stronger than everyone else. Already he'd heard the talk among the Uzumaki, of Hashirama and Madara's feats in battle. He heard about their clashes, when the Senju and the Uchiha were at it again, choosing to keep fighting each other rather than kill the other's clansmen and the clashes were already becoming well known. It was only Naruto who had yet to make a name for himself. Hell, he'd even heard small snippet of Tobirama and Izuna's accomplishments, but always over shadowed by their brothers. That wouldn't last long. They were powerful in their own right.

Naruto closed his eyes before making a decision, he would let the Shinobi know about the blond haired Uzumaki named Naruto! And that meant not killing them.

"Let's go Gaki. Honourable One said that you're in charge of this mission." A new voice chuckled from next to him. Naruto's eyes snapped open, surprised at the sudden promotion and he grinned wildly. "Sure. I hope you two can keep up." Then they were out the compound gates and racing across the grassy plains that dominated the east side.

Naruto didn't slow down when he sensed the three Shinobi slinking their way through the grass, gradually making their way towards the Uzumaki compound. Instead he fluctuated his chakra to let them know he was coming.

He saw them, rising from the long grass to see who had come. They were nobodies, no clan markings at least. They could have come from anywhere and that was probably the point. Naruto grinned before flashing right past the first one and going for the second, confusing them. He leapt into the air before delivering a devastating kick to the ninja's head. While the ninja was still air born Naruto slammed his elbow into their chest, causing them to crash straight back to the ground.

That one would not be moving just yet.

Naruto doubled back for the first one, the exchange between him and the ninja having lasted no longer than two seconds. He had wanted to emulate his father, as Konoha's yellow flash and as such he'd increased his speed to match as much as he'd been able in the short time that had passed. He knew he still had a ways to go but it was a start.

"Taijutsu rule number one, never let the enemy get behind you!" Naruto declared before performing that nightmare inducing jutsu Kakashi had performed on him. "A Thousand Years of Death no Jutsu!"

The horrified scream was enough to petrify the third Shinobi in his tracks.

Naruto approached him with a large smile on his face, but it was a Sai kind of smile. "So what was it you guys were after eh?" he asked the ninja politely.

"T-the seal f-formula for the barrier that surrounds the c-compound."

"Oh. Why don't you just make your own? It's really not all that hard. Stealing isn't very nice you know." Naruto lectured as though speaking to a small child and the two Uzumaki with him were snickering under their breath, each one watching over a ninja.

"So fast." The enemy ninja replied helplessly and Naruto was forced to conclude that he was a little shell shocked.

"Duh." Naruto chided, flicking the ninja's forehead. "What do want me to do, stand still so you can hit me? No thanks. You should leave now, take your friends with you and really, you shouldn't come back." Naruto continued to lecture while the ninja's two teammates were tossed back at him.

Naruto knew that this single encounter would not be enough to garner much of a reputation but more like it and he would build one quickly. He grinned at the thought while watching the enemy ninja high tail it out of there with an awkward waddle as he had to carry his teammates with him.

"You know, I was actually starting to like that guy." Naruto mock sniffed, wiping a fake tear from his eye.

"Yeah and I didn't get to see any of your fighting style." His teammate sniffed dramatically as well.

"If you're that bugged by it, all you had to do was ask." Naruto laughed.

"But seriously kid, just how good are you?"

"I dunno but awesome is definitely in there somewhere!" Naruto grinned, starting the trip back to the compound.

"What's awesome?"

Naruto felt a Hashirama-like depression coming on. He sometimes forgot that diction from his time and this time were slightly different.

"Awesome is inspiring an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration or fear causing or inducing awe." Naruto quoted in a toneless voice. Man, explaining a joke just took the funny right out of it. "Like me." Naruto added, just to make himself feel better.

They were nearing the compound again, having not been all that far from it in the first place.

"Awesome? Sounds good. Uzumaki are awesome, awe inspiring."

"Ohkay, now you're just over doing it." Naruto informed them seriously.

Nonetheless, from that day onwards,_ everything _to the Uzumaki was awesome.

.0.0.0.

"Naruto-kun!"

Said Shinobi was standing on top of a pillar of rock he'd just learned how to create, yelling out his victory with numerous "Yatta!"s. Upon hearing his name, the seventeen year old looked down with the classic "Eh?" expression to see Mito running towards him with the biggest grin she could manage.

"Guess what blondie! We're going to see Hashi-kun and Tobi-kun! We leave in three days." Mito yelled up to him in excitement.

"Do you have to call me blondie?" Naruto yelled back with a pout.

"Yes now get down and pack. My father is coming with and I still have to give you that lesson in clan etiquette." Mito laughed evilly and Naruto had the feeling that this was going to be painful.

Why he had to pack so soon made absolutely no sense to him whatsoever but he'd learned to listen to the red haired Uzumaki a long time ago. She was worse than he was when she didn't get what she wanted. She put him to shame when it came to pranks and worse yet, Naruto still didn't know enough about this world to retaliate.

Being an Uzumaki meant that clan rules were something that just didn't come naturally to him. He couldn't sit still for hours on end if it had nothing to do with senjutsu, he couldn't keep his mouth shut if he felt something had to be said, he couldn't stare at the ground all the time, he sometimes didn't take his shoes off just so, cause some people were really fussy about that, sometimes the only way to eat something was by trying to shovel as much of it into one's mouth as possible . . . . . the list was endless and so were the problems that came with it.

Naruto sighed and focused his chakra, sending the pillar of earth back into the ground. Hopping off and landing next to Mito who immediately wrinkled her nose and stated "Better yet, go take a bath."

Naruto scowled at her but she had a point. It was a particularly hot day and he'd been working on this jutsu without the use of his clones the whole day. His clones were busy with cooking and seals and Uzumaki politics, which for some reason the clan head seemed to think he needed to learn, and Uzumaki customs and the list also went on and on, _and on some more_.

So he'd decided to learn this relatively simple jutsu himself.

Humming, Naruto walked to the river that ran near the compound. It was larger than any river he'd ever seen before and was just as wild as any Uzumaki, making swimming across it a really bad idea. It was great for chakra control though which the Uzumaki needed plenty of when it came to the more delicate seals.

Naruto had started creating and perfecting his Wind Style techniques in the year he'd been here, with the Uzumaki. Before he'd come to the Uzumaki, he'd learnt some Earth Style techniques and one or two Water Style from Hashirama and Tobirama. From Madara and Izuna, he'd confirmed the fact that he had no talent for fire style whatsoever. Since coming to the Uzumaki he'd focused more on those two areas. He'd found that he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried, do anything related to Fire Style or Lightning Style, unless he placed it in a seal. Madara had pouted about that. He'd been pretty pissed that he couldn't teach Naruto anything and out do Hashirama in some way. Those two were weird that way, a rivalry much like Naruto's and Sasuke's very prominent in their relationship.

Still, Naruto had been neglecting his Water Style and he really shouldn't. Guess he'd just have to add more stuff to his training.

Naruto, ignoring the rapid currents, dived straight into the water. Using his chakra to keep him where he was and not rushing down the stream, Naruto closed his eyes and focused on the clones he had around the village, sending the warning signal that he was going to dispel them. That was their signal to say good bye to whoever was teaching him or to place a bookmark in whatever they were studying.

Then the knowledge of the day was recalled and his mind was assaulted with images, sounds and smells that he'd never seen or heard before. Sometimes he wondered if sending clones was truly the same as doing it himself but he didn't have the time to do everything that he was doing right now. He was seventeen years behind on all of that stuff, with so much to work towards. He couldn't afford to waste time just to experience something that would probably be no different than if a clone did it.

.0.0.0.

Naruto bowed stiffly to the Senju gate guards while they sent a messenger on ahead to inform Batsuma that they had arrived. Stretching out his senses, Naruto already knew that Hashirama was not in the compound. Stretching out a little further, he found the other Shinobi in the surrounding forest, working on his Wood Style. Just because he knew how it worked, didn't mean it was any easier to accomplish. So far, he was still trying to figure out just how much of each style he needed to make the most effective combination for the Wood Style.

Naruto didn't envy him there and often wondered what kind of blood line limit he'd have if he actually worked at creating one. He supposed it would be chakra based seeing as he had so much of it but one never could tell unless they tried.

Naruto went through the motions that Mito had drilled into him before coming here, mentally absent from the room as he'd found this was the best way to deal with all these annoying clan customs.

But that idea was short lived since Batsuma wanted to talk.

"So, I see you're fitting in nicely, Naruto-san. It's always good to have strong allies, wouldn't you say?"

"Hai, hai. But I believe that I should be strong enough to kick everyone's butt, rather than rely on others all the time. It just seems like a waste, ya know, to have to be so dependant and then everything falls to hell when your allies can't help you out or if they turn on you. I saw that once. It… didn't end well." Naruto replied, completely abandoning the formal way of speaking. "Now family, that's different. An alliance is not permanent, and is fickle as it is easily broken. But family, that's forever. The Senju and the Uzumaki are family and I hope that we shall always come to the other's aid, should it be needed."

"He's an odd one." Batsuma agreed, looking to the Uzumaki clan head, his gaze was stern, calculating, as though measuring Naruto up. "but he has a good head on his shoulders. Knows not to trust too completely just because of a signed piece of paper."

Naruto didn't reply, he hadn't been asked to and the darned formalities dictated that he kept his mouth shut. But he was happier when he sensed Hashirama's chakra returning to the compound. Good. Now he didn't have to suffer alone.

"Pardon my interruption, but may I leave for a moment, I wish to greet Hashirama-san upon his return." Naruto asked, inspiration hitting him.

"You may. You weren't exaggerating his sensing capabilities Uzumaki-Sama. Perhaps he could teach my sons a few things." Batsuma replied, half of his attention given to Naruto and the other half given to the Uzumaki clan head.

Naruto didn't stay to hear the reply. He hurried out of the stifling meeting, not missing the snickers from both the Senju and the Uzumaki guards. "That's what you get for being important brat." One of the Uzumaki, the same one that had gone with him the other day to handle the infiltration, said mockingly.

"I'm not important. I'm just some kid who got lost and had a Senju bring him home." Naruto replied in confusion.

"You gotta be joking. I knew you were naïve kid, but this takes the cake. I guess you can't help it, you still have a lot to catch up on."

Naruto didn't dwell in the confusing conversation, rushing instead to see Hashirama. Man he missed that guy. Too bad they couldn't see the Uchiha as well.

It took every ounce of will power he had not to pounce on the Senju the moment he saw him, and to wait at the gate. Truthfully Hashirama looked tired. Must have been training hard.

"You're late." Naruto stated cheerfully, surprising the Senju.

"Yeah, yeah. I was getting close to a break through. Besides I needed to work off some steam. Tobirama was sent on a mission."

Naruto understood immediately and his sympathies went out to the Senju. Unlike Madara and Hashirama, Naruto had nothing in this world. His only connection to it was the four ninja that were destined to become enemies. Not that Naruto had told them that. He supposed his connection was something more like his goal, his goal to change everything for the better.

"He'll come home. You've trained him well. I'm starting to hear about his gallant exploits." Naruto supplied with a grin.

"Yeah, he's strong but someone will always be stronger." Hashirama replied with a soft pointed smile at Naruto. "Anyways, I hear you guys are here on important business."

"We are? I thought it was a regular 'keeping up appearances' kind of visit?" Naruto replied with a frown.

"Oh Naruto! Sometimes I worry about you." Hashirama laughed, eyes scrunching closed and head rolling back. "You're here because the Uzumaki Clan Head has come to officially introduce his next of kin and because Mito-chan and I will be married in a few months." Hashirama informed him when his laughter had died down to chuckles.

"What? Really. That's so cool. I wonder who he picked." Naruto grinned, following the Senju as he walked further into the compound and towards his room.

"Uhm Naruto? Just what have you been learning these past couple months?" Hashirama asked with a worried smile. "Because the Clan Head doesn't take on students unless they have intentions to make them important. My father sure as hell doesn't teach."

"You mean . . .?" Naruto blinked at him, eyes going wide.

"You're going to be the next Clan Head of the Uzumaki, baka." Hashirama clarified.

"No way." Naruto whispered, eyes glazing over in shock.

"What the heck Naruto? This was what we were working towards." Hashirama was starting to get seriously worried. "Now it's all official."

"I just never thought it would happen so soon!" Naruto yelled out with a grin before pulling Hashirama into a hug. "I mean I've always had big dreams but this is the first time I've ever accomplished anything I've ever set out to do." Naruto let the Senju go with a laugh. "I mean this is just so WOW!"

"Haha." Hashirama chuckled weakly, trying to keep up with the blond Shinobi's exuberance. "Congratulations."

"Thanks. Oh man Hashirama, this is so cool! Dattebayo! Konoha will be here before we know it." Naruto sighed, lapsing into a nostalgic contentment. But it didn't last long. "Hang on! Why the hell didn't Mito-chan tell me all of this?"

Hashirama couldn't help but laugh. He really had missed his blond friend. He always had a way of making them feel better no matter what the circumstances were. Both of them found themselves missing The Uchiha more than ever but they could only ever see each other in battle at this point.

"So how close are you to completing your Wood Style?" Naruto asked, hoping to lift the mood a little.

"Hmmmm, at the moment there's too much Earth Chakra in the mix with the wood coming out too brittle and not at all flexible. If I add more water, then it tends to be very flexible but it doesn't really bind, like it's too floppy. Here I'll show you." Hashirama paused on his way to his room so that he could clasp his hands together. His chakra flared and a single wooden pillar rose from the ground. Naruto studied it as it moved, mentally comparing it to the wooden pillar's Yamato-taichou used. This one cracked and splintered almost immediately, making the Uzumaki wince at the noise. The pillar collapsed to the ground with the Senju muttering it was good for fire wood but that was all.

Another flare of chakra and another pillar rose up to the sky, only this time it drooped over on itself , flopping this way and that, hardly having enough strength to keep growing upwards. The wood itself seemed to be almost weeping.

"Hmmm. Hang on. Let me try sensing out the chakra you're using. Maybe I can tell you then." Naruto suggested, placing a hand on Hashirama's back and closing his eyes in concentration.

"Hai." Hashirama grinned before repeating the task once again.

"You're using too much either way, that much is obvious but you're also trying to shove both chakra through both your hands at the same time. Didn't I tell you that it would be easier if you channelled the different chakra in each hand? I bet it would even be easier to control that way."

"Uhm, my bad?" Hashirama offered with a sheepish smile.

Naruto lowered his hand and Hashirama turned to face the blond who shrugged. "Meh, you'd have figured it out on your own either way."

"Hahaha, yeah I guess so. Come on. I want to change these clothes and all this dawdling isn't helping." Hashirama agreed, continuing the walk.

The two walked through the compound, talking easily, laughing and joking in a way that only the greatest of friends could. The Senju that saw them smiled, knowing that this was good for the alliance but never guessing that the two really did know each other that well.

"So how's Tobirama's training going?" Naruto asked as Hashirama opened the door to his room.

The Senju inclined his head thoughtfully. "Well we don't have as much time to train anymore, but he's amazing Naruto. If I'm not careful he just might surpass me." Hashirama paused to tilt his head in consideration before asking curiously "What's it like with the Uzumaki?"

Naruto blinked at him before stopping in their casual walk and smiling warmly, tilting his face up to the clouds. "Truthfully, I haven't felt more at home in my entire life. They make being me very easy."

"What do you mean by that?" Hashirama asked, stopping as well, curious as to what the blond meant.

"Well, all my life people have told me I'm loud and obnoxious and that I never think before I leap. But with the Uzumaki, they're loud too and they're just as crazy in their ideas. They leap before even thinking about leaping and they like the things I do and understand the amazingness behind those things, like bright colours, clashing colours and ramen. They teach without needing a reason to, sharing knowledge just to make sure that the next generation is as powerful as they are and even more so. They celebrate the ideals of family and friendship, cherishing every bond they have. They're not afraid to open their mouths and just say what's on their mind. Never before have I met so many people that understand my ways." Naruto explained. "I understand them too. They're family, Hashirama and that feels great. I find myself feeling more and more sorry for their loss in my time. They truly are an amazing clan."

"That they are. I love their festivals. I think there's one coming up soon." Hashirama replied, a small smile tilting his lips as well.

"You bet there is. It's the Festival of the Kami. All of them, even the Shinigami. We're going to be celebrating all that they have given us in this world. They have this shrine with these masks in them. They look so cool. But they're powerful. They have seals in them that as far as I can tell, do unimaginably amazing things. But like all things powerful in the ninja world they come at a price. As such the masks are not to be used lightly, if at all." Naruto explained growing excited at the idea of the coming festival.

"Wow, the Uzumaki aren't too concerned with flaunting their power are they?" Hashirama mused.

"Not really. Like I said, they like family and friendship more than power, like the Senju and the Uchiha. You know that's why I think the clans are such rivals, the Uchiha and the Senju I mean. They're both fighting to protect the ones they love." Naruto grinned at the idea. At least that's the way he liked to see things.

"Well then we'd better hurry up and get stronger so that we can stop this ridiculous fighting. I'd estimate that we're only at Jonin level, basing it on your descriptions of the Konoha ranking system."

"Not bad, for a Gaki. I'm still stronger than you." Naruto reminded with a mischievous grin, poking the Senju in the ribs.

"Hey! I can't help it you're older than me! Just you wait Uzumaki, once I get this Wood Style down and the Senjutsu mastered, you're so dead." Hashirama promised with a determined growl.

"Oh yeah? Won't mean shit if you can't catch me." Naruto taunted, before ruffling the fifteen year old's hair and dashing away from the punch. Naruto, out of the five of them, was definitely the fastest (Tobirama coming a close second) and due to his mastery of senjutsu, the strongest. His ability to spam the shadow clones more than the others also put him in the lead when it came to learning things. But those four were no picnic either. They had a lot more chakra than the other kids from Naruto's time, even more than most chunin when Naruto had first begun to train with them and at the time they were still considered to be at the level of mere children.

The Shinobi of this era were on a whole other level. Naruto couldn't help but wonder just what had happened. Perhaps peace had clouded their minds.

If they managed to create the ultimate peace, would that make ninja obsolete?

Naruto dismissed the thought in favour of looking out for the ninja that was now trying to land at least one blow on him.

"Come on Hashirama, you're going to have to be faster if you ever want to touch a hair on this awesome head." Naruto taunted as he ducked out of the way.

Hashirama's taijutsu was amazing. Naruto concluded that when you didn't really have all that much time to learn ninjutsu due to the constant fighting, you were forced to rely on taijutsu more often than not. Which was why all four of the them, Uchiha and Senju alike, could hand him his ass in taijutsu unless he was using the frog kumite, which wasn't as effective without the senjutsu but it was still pretty good.

Naruto grinned as he backed away from a kick that was aimed for his head, the blow ultimately creating a small crater in the ground and alerting the Senju around them to the fight.

"Missed me, again!" Naruto yelled happily while ducking under a punch.

Naruto sensed both the Clan Heads exiting the building they had been heading towards and wondered if he should stop the fight but he was having too much fun. Only Hashirama and Madara would really go all out like this on him. They all loved it, pushing themselves to new heights while having fun at the same time, comfortable in the knowledge that they weren't about to die anytime soon either. Tobirama and Izuna had still been slightly hesitant the last time they had sparred. Naruto couldn't understand why though but he shrugged it off.

"Uzumaki Naruto, when I get my hands on you!" Hashirama fumed.

"Ha! You're too slow for that." Naruto interrupted.

Hashirama smirked before jumping backwards suddenly and clasping his hands together in an all too familiar seal for the blonde. Three shadow clones rushed at him.

"Really, increasing the number doesn't make you faster." Naruto chided as he ducked and dodged, not once going on the offensive. Naruto had learnt to be pretty flexible when fighting with Hashirama. One had to be in order to dodge some of his blows.

Two of the clones slammed their palms to the ground, using earth style to raise pillars of earth that Naruto sprang backwards from, now having to find his way around buildings as well.

Naruto sensed the third clone moving in behind him and struck out for the first time, dispelling the clone. The smoke from the clone and the add zing of chakra in the air after it dispelled was enough to confuse Naruto's sensing abilities just long enough for the original Hashirama to use wood style to bind him, wood wrapping around his wrists and ankles, suspending him in the air like a play thing.

He scowled at the Senju as he approached. He got a laugh for his troubles.

"I don't have to be faster than you, Naruto-kun. I just have to be smarter." He then flicked Naruto's forehead.

"OW." Naruto whined.

"Hahaha, Naruto-kun, I think it's safe to say you just got owned." Mito laughed from where she and her father were watching.

"Oh yeah?" Naruto laughed before popping into a cloud of smoke. A blur of blond and black burst from the ground, striking out at Hashirama.

"Heh, I was wondering how long it would take you to get out of there." Hashirama yelled as he sprang to the rooftops, "Now fight me seriously, no more clones."

"Alight, but define serious?" Naruto laughed.

"No ninjutsu, or genjutsu, or senjutsu, or fuinjutsu. Straight up taijutsu and kenjutsu." Hashirama elaborated before drawing his sword.

Ah shit.

Naruto was still learning kenjutsu. "Mito-kun, can I borrow your sword?" Naruto yelled down to the red haired Uzumaki who laughed and shook her head.

Well damn. Naruto pulled out a kunai to block the blows, grumbling how this was damaging the weapon.

It didn't exactly help that more and more Senju were popping out from the compound, drawn towards the sound of the fighting. They were watching the two clan heirs, whispering in excitement to themselves as they made their own assessment of the mock fight.

"Naruto." Hashirama stated quietly, too quietly for anyone else to hear, when they were standing close enough. "This is fun and all but much more of this and it'll get serious enough to reveal just how much of our skills we've been hiding."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Naruto countered, raising his kunai to block the quick slash from Hashirama's blade.

"For now, yes. At the moment, I have managed to create the perfect balance between training, missions and family. I don't want to disrupt this balance by allowing my father to see that I can handle more than what he sends me on." Hashirama concluded. "Also, the Uzumaki are not blinded to the warring state and they too offer their services to those who would have them. You've just been kept away from it for the time being so that you could catch up in your learning. After this little get together, I imagine that I'll be seeing you on the battle fields a lot more."

"I see. Well then, I say we tell them we're at a stalemate, that neither of us will win this." Naruto replied thoughtfully. Seemed he was going to get his chance to get that reputation after all.

They nodded to show the timing in order to break away and flip back towards the ground.

"At this rate, neither of us would have won anyway." Naruto added in a louder tone, studying his now useless kunai with a pout. "What were you trying to do, cleave the thing?" he added with a snort.

Even his wrist was feeling the power of those blows.

"Naruto! Your kenjutsu sucks!" Mito scolded and the blond sighed. There was just no pleasing that girl.

"Hmmm, but his performance leads me to conclude that he may just be ready for something else." The Uzumaki Clan Head mused.

"I was fighting with a kunai! What do you want from me?" Naruto yelled back before sticking out his tongue. Mito crossed her arms with a huff and looked away while Hashirama chuckled.

"Hey, that reminds me, there's someone I want you to meet." Naruto grinned widely at the Senju before hopping down off the roof they'd been fighting on. Hashirama quirked a brow in interest before following him. Naruto led them to where meeting hall where the Senju guards and the Uzumaki guards were chatting quietly amongst themselves.

"Hashirama, this is Uzumaki Takashi." Naruto gestured to one of the Uzumaki guards and smiled broadly. "He and I often go on missions together."

Hashirama blinked in surprise for a moment before realisation dawned on him. Naruto was telling him that he'd made a friend. In this world where he was a stranger, even though he'd found a place he could call home surrounded by those that were family, it wasn't the same. A friend was still something different, something Naruto always cherished. Takashi was Naruto's first Uzumaki friend.

Takashi was also surprised at the introduction and turned to the Uzumaki sitting next to him. He was watching Naruto and the Senju boy, Hashirama, walk away, talking together as they went.

"You felt that too right?" Takashi asked and the other nodded.

"There is much of young Naruto-kun's past that we do not know."

"Much of it we will never learn. We can only guess." Takashi sighed.

"What do you mean? I thought you guys were all about openness and unity?" One of the Senju asked, tone polite even though the questions showed his confusion.

"Well, we speculate, that Naruto-kun lost his parents long before he came to us. That he was far too young to have been taught anything about being an Uzumaki and was left to fend for himself for many years. He hides it well but there are signs, small slip ups that show us he has a painful past, one that hides many things both powerful and dangerous. Young Naruto-kun hides much of his power and we wait for the day he will feel comfortable enough to show it to us freely. Hashirama-san is much the same way. He hides more than what he allows his clan to see, but his reasons are acceptable. He doesn't not wish to be sent away from the clan, his family, for longer periods of time, and receiving higher ranked missions will do this. Naruto-kun on the other hand is different. He was unfamiliar with the prospect of receiving without giving anything in return. At first he was startled and tensed at every gesture, every casual greeting, eyes showing a world of doubt and hesitant glee."

Takashi paused to frown. "It was as though he hadn't known much kindness in his life. Had his parents been alive for most of his life as he likes to give the impression of, then he would not be so surprised by the Uzumaki way of life."

"And you trust him as your clan head?" The Senju asked in surprise.

"Look at him." Takashi smiled. "Everything about him is honest. He cannot lie. Not even if he tried. Watch him with Hashirama-san. They were friends long before he came here. It's even in their chakra. There is a strong bond between the two."

"While Naruto-kun may have a past that is beyond many of our understanding, he has the one thing we all value most, he has the heart of an Uzumaki and will always, without fail, place those around him before himself." The other Uzumaki guard explained.

"His past is his own, and we will not press the issue. It is for him to come to peace with and for him to realise that we will not abandon him as his eyes often show fear of. I don't think he even realises that he shows it so easily." Takashi muttered.

The Senju blinked in amazement. While they might have had a strong bond with the Uzumaki, they felt they would never understand the clan. They were in a league all their own. While the Senju would not stand for secrets, fearing that it might harm the clan, the Uzumaki let them remain as they were. Such was the saying they let sleeping dogs lie. With a clan such as theirs, with their sensing ability, they knew how rare a secret could be and did not pry when one arose.

They knew all too well what that small piece of individuality would mean and left well enough alone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Beta-ed by Jenny-Cat-Miaow. **

**What it takes to be Hokage**

**Chapter 8**

Izuna watched the oblivious ninja in front of them carefully, body tense as he waited.

Madara stood next to him, lips thinned into a tight line.

"There's nothing we can do." Madara finally decided, his tone nothing more than a breathy whisper so that only Izuna could hear the word. Yet his eyes closed as he said so, voice sounding strained. "Let's get this over with."

"H-hai." Izuna replied, pulling out a kunai before grasping Madara's shoulder once and rushing towards their enemy.

The four Senju hired to protect the precious item which the Uchiha had been hired to steal were not Hashirama and Tobirama. But they were Senju all the same, and the Uchiha that had been told to go with Madara and Izuna would not let them live.

The most Madara and Izuna could do was allow them a swift death, a painless death, and one that would ensure a body was left behind to be buried.

Madara felt the already daunting weight on his shoulders increase that much more upon his shoulders as he followed his younger brother, ignoring the approving grunts from the Uchiha behind them.

.0.0.0.

"Naruto-kun, walk with me."

Said blond looked up from the scroll he'd been reading and blinked at the Clan Head before he nodded and got to his feet.

"Your fighting style, Naruto-kun, while unique and effective, is far from that of the Uzumaki style. Up till now you have been learning jutsu, and you're very good with ninjutsu as are most Uzumaki, and you've been learning sealing, something any true Uzumaki knows. You've also been learning the history and customs of your clan. But I believe that now, you are ready to learn something a little different, something you'll need to dispel all your clones to achieve."

Naruto nodded in understanding before pausing in the walk to focus on his clones. He sent the warning before dispelling them, taking a moment more to absorb all the memories.

The walk with the Clan Head was silent after that. The older Uzumaki seemed to be deep in thought, contemplative mostly and Naruto did not feel inclined to interrupt his musings.

Naruto was led to the other side of the compound, a side that was actually neighboured by some cliffs. He'd never really focused much on this part of the compound. It wasn't where anything happened as it was mostly in an isolated part of the compound with buildings facing away from the others and what not . . . apparently. He must have missed something.

He blinked in fascination as the Clan Head performed a series of seals. Despite what other ninjas thought, the Sealing Art was not performed with brushes and ink. Fuinjutsu also relied on hand signs and sometimes on brushes, paper and ink. It was by watching the sequence of hand sings that Naruto was able to deduce that the seals unlocked something as far as he could gather. With the sequence completed, the Clan Head pressed a palm to what had previously been a blank wall of rock.

It began as a circle of ancient script that quickly spread out into lines, stretching across a massive portion of the rock's surface. Naruto waited with a racing heart and wide eyes as a door began to appear, seeming to be carved from the very rock itself.

With the sounds of grating stone on stone, the slab of rock moved to the side to reveal a space within the very cliff-face itself, a room that was vaster than what Naruto could actually see. But from what he _could_ see, the space was completely empty.

"This is will be the last stage of your training, Naruto-kun." The Clan Head began gravely. "After this, there is nothing else to teach you about being an Uzumaki. If you master this, then you have done, in the space of a few months, what only a handful of Uzumaki had managed to achieve in their entire lifetime."

"But there's still so much that I have to learn." Naruto protested weakly.

"Ah, the mastering of more jutsu from an element you've already grasped enough understanding of to begin creating your own techniques. What more could you need to learn there other than an hour or so it would take to master yet another jutsu? Or a new type a storage seal? Naruto-kun, you know the very basics of sealing, so much so that you can create them yourself. Anything more that you learn now, it'll all be adding to a perfect mastery of the Uzumaki way. You must remember Naruto-kun, that one will never stop learning, never stop improving, that is the way of life. But there will come a time where one must start teaching."

"Naruto, you've mastered three elements, wind, water and earth. You're got yang chakra in spades. Still not sure what you're going to do with that, but you've got it. You're brilliant at sealing, picking it up faster than what anyone else ever has. It's like it just clicks for you or something."

Naruto turned to see that Takashi was approaching them, smiling broadly.

"Thank-you for coming." The Clan Head smiled pleasantly at the red haired Uzumaki who bowed in respect.

"As you requested Honourable One." Takashi replied before turning back to Naruto. "You've got more heart than all the Uzumaki combined and we're still not sure how that's possible but it is. You've got this, without a doubt. . . But I will admit, you still need to work on your kenjutsu." Takashi added with a cheeky grin and a wink.

"Thanks, Takashi-kun." Naruto looked down, cheeks reddening. Looking up with the familiar determination burning in his gaze, he grinned and asked. "So, what next?"

"When you go into that room, you'll have to make it to the other side, where you'll need to deactivate the seals that power the room. The room itself in an obstacle course, designed to hone one's reflexes and speed, strengthen one's stamina, increase one's overall physique and test one's sealing. But mostly it's about training one's body to perform the Uzumaki taijutsu perfectly on an instinctual level." The Clan Head stated. "It will scan your chakra as you pass the doorway and start at the difficulty level the seals have assessed you to be at. The entire system is designed to scan your performance and adjust it to fit your mistakes, working on correcting them. It doesn't have a pattern. It's completely unpredictable so don't waste time trying." The Clan Head explained and Naruto listened intently.

"You'll be locked in until you disable the system and that's where I come in. See, it's dangerous going in there because not everyone comes out. You could very well run out of chakra, even as an Uzumaki. I'll be on the outside sending in food so don't worry about starving."

Naruto wasn't concerned about that. He was far more concerned with what he'd do for a bathroom.

"Are there any periods where I'll be able to rest?" He asked instead.

"Briefly. It isn't designed to really try to kill a person. It's just sometimes it cannot be completed. The one attempting it simply over stepped their limits and couldn't overcome them." Takashi admitted with a frown. "There is an override seal on this side and there are seals set to monitor you so I'll know if I need to pull you out."

Naruto felt disappointment at that, not sure if he wanted to be pulled out because he didn't like giving up and that felt an awful lot like giving up. But he was also relieved that there was a way out if he did need it.

"Hai. I understand." Naruto gave a short bow, turning to the door. "What's the record on this course?"

"Naruto, I don't want you to push yourself to break a record. That wouldn't help you." The Clan Head warned.

"I'll be fine." Naruto replied adamantly. "I'm just trying to get an idea of what I'm up against."

"Two months. That's the fastest it's ever been completed. But as the course is designed to target your mistakes and weaknesses, you'll have to be careful Naruto-kun." Takashi stressed.

"Always." Naruto grinned with a thumbs-up, and the other two relaxed. Naruto giving a thumbs-up was perhaps the best reassurance he could give.

The blond gave one last grin, yelled a cheerful, "Say bye to Mito-chan for me!" before rushing through the doors. The last thing the other two Uzumaki saw as the doors closed was a familiar hand sign with an even more familiar shout of, "Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

"Why didn't you tell him that it was your record?" The Clan Head asked curiously, turning to Takashi.

"Because it wasn't needed. He will focus his attention on beating me, rather than on learning to correct his mistakes." Takashi shrugged. "And that would defeat the whole purpose of the exercise."

"Still, I wonder how he'll do."

.0.0.0.

Naruto had walked into the room, determined to prove that he had what it took to be an Uzumaki, and had walked out six weeks later, grinning wildly just before collapsing from exhaustion. Otherwise, the knucklehead had been perfectly fine.

Takashi had carried the blond all the way to the clan head with a soft smile on his features, infinitely proud of the young teen. He didn't even mind that he was supposed to have been the next clan head, had Naruto not come along, because he realised that Naruto made a much better leader. Better than what any of them could have ever hoped to be.

After that, Naruto was officially announced as the Clan Heir to the Uzumaki and he was taken to complete his final stage of initiation, something the stunned blond hadn't even known that he'd have to do.

This time it was Takashi that led him to yet another somewhat isolated part of the compound and Naruto was surprised to learn that the Uzumaki had their own blacksmith.

"This Naruto-kun, is where you'll receive your very own set of armour. Uzumaki armour is special, in that it's made with a special type of metal, and it's forged with seals built right into its core. It's lighter than other armour and it's more flexible without losing durability." Takashi explained as the black smith looked up.

"Ah, well I'll be, the Clan Heir." The black smith grinned, giving Naruto a short bow. "I'd begun to wonder when I'd be seeing you. So, what colour will it be?"

Naruto blinked in surprise before a slow grin spread on his features. "Orange of course."

Naruto screeched in surprise when metal chains shot from the black smith and wrapped around him, glowing brightly with chakra and filling the room with their intensity. Naruto felt the chakra more than just physically as Kurama's chakra recoiled from the chains, churning painfully just below the surface but otherwise keeping at bay.

The chains shifted, moved, to form something different and Naruto was half surprised when they didn't even burn his skin as they shaped and conformed to fit his body perfectly.

To his further amazement, the pieces of what Naruto could now identify as armour moved away from him in the individual pieces that it was made up of, still glowing brightly, and moved to rest on a large workbench.

Naruto openly gaped at the now dulling pieces of metal, a slight stream of drool running down his chin. "Oh man, I gotta learn how to do that." Naruto whispered.

"It's a bloodline that not many Uzumaki possess." Takashi explained.

"**And it's a bloodline your mother possessed. Half the reason she was chosen to be a Jinchuriki like you**." Kurama informed him from within his mind. He'd long since learnt the truth of the night the Kyuubi was sealing within him because Kurama had told him about it. It was a tragic tale but he was proud of his parents and everything they had done for him. It made him that much sadder that they'd even had to make such terrible sacrifices in the first place.

"_So do I have it?_" Naruto whispered in reply.

"**That is not something I can tell you**." Kurama's reply was faded, meaning he had had enough of the conversation and wasn't about to reply again. He spoke to Naruto occasionally outside of when Naruto was sleeping but that didn't mean he was any less grouchy.

"How would one know if they have this ability?" Naruto asked with a slight thoughtful frown.

"Really Naruto-kun? You're so fricken out there already and now you want a bloodline as well." Takashi teased, not meaning anything negative by it.

"Doesn't hurt to be well rounded." Naruto replied with a grin.

"Well, let's see." The black smith mused with a warm smile. "I'm the only one who has the bloodline at the moment and it's rather tedious doing everything by myself. If Naruto-kun here can apprentice himself to me, even just as a substitute for when things get really tough, it'll help me and the clan out greatly."

"Well, then I shall speak to our Honourable One. You should test him in the meantime, now's as good a time as any. That way we'll know for sure when we bring the matter up later or if we should even bring it up at all." Takashi shrugged.

"Yay! What do I have to do?" Naruto asked breathlessly, eyes shining with excitement.

"Hold this." The black smith replied, after moving away from them and towards a drawer, returning with a flat piece of silver metal.

Naruto lifted the rectangle of metal from the black smith's hand very carefully, not entirely sure what he was supposed to be looking for.

"Flat in your palm." The black smith continued to instruct and Naruto obeyed. The metal was warm, even when he'd taken it from the black smith, too warm for the small amount of contact it had had with his hand. It also gleamed a pale blue whenever the light caught it and Naruto was fascinated by that.

"Alright, now channel chakra over it. Not a lot, just enough to cover it."

Naruto nodded to show that he had heard before complying with the instruction. Carefully trying to not overdo it, he sent as little chakra as he could manage to the rectangle in his palm.

Waiting, still not sure what he was looking for, Naruto watched the little rectangle carefully. He maintained the chakra contact while he watched, sure there was a goofy smile on his face.

As the seconds ticked by and still nothing happened, Naruto's smile began to fade. Maybe he didn't have a bloodline after all. It was supposed to be really rare and what where the odds that he, one of the last Uzumaki from his time, would have something like that?

"I'm afraid it would appear that you do not possess the bloodline, Naruto-kun. I'm sorry." Takashi stated quietly, regretfully.

"**Wait, just for a moment more**." Kurama murmured distractedly in his mind.

And Naruto did, blinking in bewilderment at the rectangle of flat bluish silver metal. "It's warm." He stated without really thinking.

And it was only growing warmer.

The reaction was instant, spontaneous and explosive. All things that Naruto prided his own personality as being particularly like at the best of times.

What had begun as a thin rectangle of strangely warm metal, rippled once before denting inwards, conforming to the shape of his hand. It didn't stop there. The chakra he'd fed to the metal caused it to grow, move like a liquid over and around his hand until it covered every inch of skin below his elbow.

"That's so awesome!" Naruto declared while Takashi and the black smith gapped in surprise. "But how do I get it off now?"

"I guess his training should begin i-immediately." Takashi stated, looking a little stunned.

Naruto grinned at him while the Kyuubi chuckled in the depths of Naruto's mind. "**You know, Naruto, that man, the black smith, he just might be related to you through your mother's side.**"

And if that didn't make Naruto a little more respectful of the man that was now his teacher, he didn't know what else would.

.0.0.0.

"So, he possesses the Uzumaki bloodline. That is troubling just as it is elating." The Clan Head mused. "I thought the Wandering Fraction did not possess the bloodline, as that is one of the rules."

"Perhaps his mother had the ability, but only as a carrier." Takashi suggested.

They were both watching Naruto, whose first task as a black smith in training was to remove the metal from his arm and return it to its original form. Not an easy task as the boy essentially had no idea how to use his bloodline. The metal was designed to react to the possibility of a bloodline with no conscious effort of the tester's part, so Naruto was going to be there a while.

For the time being, the metal remained warm and it remained flexible so that it appeared that Naruto had a really shiny hand. As for how to remove it, well he was lost on that one. Hell, until that morning, he hadn't even known there was a possibility of him having a bloodline at all.

Now he had one, just like Hashirama and Madara, yet he had no idea how it worked.

Kurama had informed him that the metal was based largely upon chakra, and that he was going to have to master his own before he could master his bloodline. Unfortunately for Naruto, he also had to maybe master the Kyuubi's chakra as well since their two chakras mixed frequently and with the addition of Kurama's chakra into his own, he'd lose control of his bloodline.

He could not do that kind of training within the compound. He hadn't told anyone about the Kyuubi.

He was sure they knew to some extent that there was something different about him, and a few had even asked about the whisker marks on his face but so far he'd managed to brush it all aside.

Unless he came up with a solution, it was a bloodline he wouldn't be able to use.

.0.0.0.

All training was brought to an abrupt halt as the warring between clans escalated and the Uzumaki were pulling into the fighting via aiding the Senju.

Naruto often worked with Tobirama and Hashirama, taking out the enemy, avoiding killing them, and completing their objective efficiently. They were like a three man cell, Naruto able to use three elements as well as Sealing, Tobirama having mastered water style, and Hashirama able to use both water and earth style. Their other talents in taijutsu and kenjutsu made them impossible to beat, especially since Naruto had mastered the Uzumaki taijutsu style. He could still get his ass handed to him, but only by Hashirama and Tobirama. He hadn't tested Izuna and Madara yet but he was pretty sure they could.

The Uzumaki taijutsu was wild, unpredictable, yet graceful, flowing in a way. He moved his body in ways that should have been impossible, ways he had been forced to learn while he'd been in that room. If anyone from a more modern world had seen Naruto fight they might have said it was almost based on gymnastics, only it packed more of a wallop, with some improvisation thrown in the mix as well. Naruto could use anything in his surroundings that would enable him to get an edge against his opponent. He could jump over pretty much anything, instantly attach himself with chakra to pretty much anything and he could work around any obstacle in his way. It was great for chakra control but he was still a long way off from being anywhere close to a medic nin.

It was in the middle of these petty skirmished, and indeed they were petty, that Mito and Hashirama were married. The light hearted celebration was exactly what the Uzumaki and the Senju needed at that moment, as the moral had been waning somewhat.

Naruto had helped in the cooking along with the other Uzumaki, thoroughly enjoying it. He honestly loved cooking. There was just something so peaceful about it. And of course, getting to eat the food afterwards was always a given.

It was during the ceremony that Naruto left a Kage Bunshin in his place, having crafted a seal to hide his chakra as he carefully made his way out of the compound.

"Madara-kun, Izuna-kun." He greeted with a soft smile as he sat down next to them. They were far from the compound, watching as Hashirama married Mito. They couldn't get any closer because of the Uzumaki sensors.

"I heard you became the Heir." Madara replied. "Congratulations."

"Heh, thanks." Naruto replied with a slight blush as he looked away. He still found it difficult to handle praise.

"And your prowess on the battlefield is spreading quickly." Izuna added. "Having mastered the way of the Uzumaki appears to have been the best course of action for you. You have won them over completely."

"Well, wasn't that the plan?" Naruto shrugged. "Besides, you two are making waves yourselves. I've been hearing about you guys a lot. Most whisper about the Senju brothers and the Uchiha brothers and when they do, they do it in awe of what you've managed to accomplish at such a young age."

Madara and Izuna did not reply and Naruto understood why. The things they'd managed to accomplish had been based on the necessity to survive. Somehow, both Taijima and Batsuma had figured out that if they sent their sons on missions far above their skill, or maybe it was desperation on their part, but if they sent their sons on higher ranked missions, the instinct to survive would ensure they came home with a completed mission in tow.

It was a messed up situation and Naruto couldn't wait until Madara and Hashirama were the clan heads respectively. He couldn't understand why the clans fought so much. Everything was always so damn petty. So far he hadn't one encountered a legitimate reason to be fighting. Unless he looked at it as the clans using petty excuses as a cover for a much baser reason, revenge.

"Things are going to break out in war." Madara whispered. "The Uchiha were hired to take a piece of land from a small clan that neighbours the Senju. The Senju won't let it slide so easily."

"When the battle is done, what would happen to the clan that was originally on the land?" Naruto asked, frowning.

"They will probably be killed off." Izuna sighed. "You don't have to contend with a vengeful enemy if there is no enemy in the first place."

Naruto sighed before he decided the topic was morbid enough and pulled out a scroll. "I brought food." He grinned and the two perked up.

"Is your cooking as bad as Madara-kun's?" Izuna asked carefully.

"Hey! My cooking skill is still in its training stages." Madara defended with a growl.

Naruto laughed. "Madara-kun, cooking isn't training. Half the time it's throwing things together just to see how it'll taste. It's freedom. It's something that's entirely your own, yours to control. It's not the same as mastering a jutsu. Try just letting it relax you next time, kay?" Naruto advised between chuckles.

Madara nodded slowly, sinking into his own thoughts. Naruto left him to it as he bit his thumb and swiped it across the seal, summoning the three lunches he brought with him.

It was the little moments like these that he treasured, where they weren't facing each other across a battlefield wondering how in the world they were going to make it out of there without dying, killing each other, and still managed to avoid suspicion from those around them.

It was moments like these that Naruto hoped to have many more of, after they built Konoha.

.0.0.0.

He ducked under the sword that aimed to remove his head from his shoulders with a frustrated growl. This battle was heading nowhere and fast. Not to mention, he still sucked at kenjutsu. He just hadn't had the time to bring himself up to the level of the ninja that had been relying on kenjutsu for most of their lives.

Then again, hadn't they gotten this good at it by needing to survive by using it? The battlefield, Naruto knew all too well, was the best and most effective teacher, unless one didn't learn the lesson in time.

Still, Uzumaki and Senju clashed with Uchiha all around him, the emotions intense and biting. As an Uzumaki sensor, everything was a confusing blur of negativity to him and he had been forced to cut his sensing entirely. He was sure most of the Uzumaki had to.

The Uzumaki only ever fought in full on battles like this if the Senju asked it of them. They couldn't handle the sensory overload that come with a violent battle such as this one.

Naruto ducked again and flew backwards. His opponent was far too keen on skewering him, that was for sure.

"Keep up Naruto-kun."

Said blond barely had enough time to glance over at Takashi as the other Uzumaki took down his own opponent. The problem here was also the fact that only five people on this battlefield weren't trying to kill their opponent. Another problem was the fact that the Uchiha Naruto had knocked out earlier were regaining consciousness and jumping straight back into the fight, killing Senju and Uzumaki alike as they went.

Naruto spun away from the sword before dropping to the ground to avoid being fried to a crisp. Those fireballs were really getting on his nerve.

What choice did he really have? Did he kill? Or did he go all out? If he did that, would he lose control?

He didn't want to kill the Uchiha because that was Madara and Izuna's family. It had to be hard losing people, he knew that it was. He didn't want to ever be the reason someone experienced that kind of pain. But the Uchiha were killing his family, and he had to do something to stop this fighting because everyone was getting hurt.

What did he do?

"Naruto-kun!"

Two Uchiha had leapt straight for him while Naruto had carelessly allowed himself get lost within his own thoughts. Takashi had been watching over him even if it had been nothing more than a glance here and there at most.

The red haired Uzumaki sprang away from his own opponent, sword ready to block the one aimed for Naruto's back. But he couldn't block the one aimed for Naruto's side, and used his own body as a shield instead.

The blood from the wound splattered across Naruto's face, his eyes wide from shock.

Takashi bit back the cry of pain as he pulled his sword away from the one he was blocking only to bring it back down and across the Uchiha's throat. But he knew that it was too late for him. The Uchiha that had aimed for Naruto's side snarled in anger, pulling the sword out of the wound it had created within Takashi's body before bringing it back down, cutting straight though his armour with a chakra infused blow.

This all happened in the space of time where Takashi had pushed Naruto away, causing the teen to lose his footing and stumble before tripping over a fallen Shinobi. He was helpless as he watched one of his precious people sacrifice their life to save his own.

"No. . . Not again." Images of Hinata flashed through his mind and that same rage, that same self-hatred flared within his very soul.

A spark of fiery, potent fury ignited from his core, a familiar feeling of psychotic intent flavoured with the addictive bloodlust, the desire to end lives, to destroy all that which his eyes took in.

But he held back the dark seductive chakra that promised power. He forced his body to move, to strike down the other Uchiha . . . to kill him.

Naruto pushed the Uchiha away from his sword with a sneer of disgust before dropping down to his knees. His barriers that kept everything negative out faulted before dropping entirely and everything around him, all the pain and death, it slammed into him in one go and he felt the breath whoosh from his lungs.

"You really are too good for this world, Naruto-kun. Can't even kill the enemy properly can you?" Takashi smiled softly, a bittersweet one. "You shouldn't have been asked to come here . . . Lead them well . . . try not to screw up in my absence."

"I'm sorry, I'm so so so sorry." Naruto sobbed as he gripped the other man's armour.

But Takashi didn't react to the words, didn't hear them. His eyes were dull, his breathing no more.

Naruto's breath caught in his thought when this fact registered in his mind. Everything he'd been holding back since entering this meaningless fight broke loose and he let out a feral scream of rage laced with the madness of the Kyuubi's power.

.0.0.0.

Hashirama looked away from Madara, his eternal opponent when their clans crashed, as a different type of chakra entirely coated the battlefield.

"That's Naruto." Madara gasped as he looked to the source. "What is this?"

"Don't tell me there's more he didn't tell us?" Hashirama's eyes said that he didn't want to believe the words that had spilled from his mouth. Was there something more the blond hadn't said anything about?

Was this some type of jutsu?

"Hashirama!" Said Senju turned to see a blond in orange armour racing towards him and he had to conclude that it was a clone. "He's lost it, the Boss has given in. I don't know what happened but you need to stop him." The clone yelled desperately. "Your Mokuton will suppress it but you have to hurry." Then the clone destabilised and popped, a grimace of pain on his features as he did so.

"What the hell is it?" Madara snarled, his anger kicking in because that was his defence against that which he did not understand.

"I don't know but I have to get closer." Hashirama replied gravely before rushing towards the centre of the battlefield. With Naruto's sensing abilities, why on earth had he gone there?

Most of the powerful Uzumaki sensors became ranged attackers. But then Naruto's fighting style wasn't long range at all. He would not have had a choice.

Madara naturally followed him to where Naruto was and the closer they got the more powerful the chakra's intent became. All around them battles were stopping, the utter hopelessness that the chakra inspired sinking in and sinking in fast.

An inhuman roar of pain ripped through the air and Hashirama watched as the blond Uzumaki from the future gripped at his hair, an ungodly red chakra hissing and bubbling around him like a protective cloak. . . a cloak that burned and peeled away his very skin.

Hashirama had stopped running without even realising it, gapping at the image in front of him. Wild untameable locks of blond danced to the ferocity of the bubbling chakra as feral red-slitted eyes shifted from Shinobi to Shinobi. Elongated canines pressed together in a snarl of rage and hatred, a deep growl reverberating throughout Naruto's body.

Claws scrapped against skin as Naruto pulled his hands through his hair, uncaring of the damage he was doing to himself.

"Oh no." Hashirama breathed out, barely audible as his eyes fell on the fallen Shinobi by Naruto's feet. Takashi . . .

"**Kill!**" A roar of determination. "_**I will kill!**_"

"I don't think he even has a semblance of rationality right now." Madara managed to stutter out.

Hashirama frowned at the Uzumaki. He had managed to stop the fighting, all of it, as every pair of eyes on the field was now turned to him. Naruto was just full of surprises.

That furious demonic gaze fell on Madara and Hashirama and Naruto's lips stretched even more to display an inhuman smirk of insane sadism. Hashirama blinked and suddenly the blond was standing in front of him.

"**I don't think I'll let you two stop me this time. You're the most annoying humans to ever roam this land, the two who could control me outside of a seal.**" Naruto's whispered in Hashirama's ear, the voice not Naruto's. "**The boy is finally vulnerable enough to let me have this brief moment of control and I will make use of it. I will kill those accursed Uchiha. You can build your forsaken village without them.**"

"What are you?" Hashirama choked out, the killing intent that was rolling off Naruto was making him sick, almost unable to stand. He had _never_ felt anything like this.

"**You will come to know me in time, Senju. You are the first of the Shinobi world to encounter my kind after all, aside from those of Suna.**"

Suna? What the hell was Suna? But he didn't get the chance to ask. An arm wrapped around his middle and he was yanked backwards so rapidly it was dizzying.

"Where the hell is your head Aniki?" Tobirama demanded as he let go of Hashirama. "He was about to kill you!"

Panicked Uzumaki around them sprang forward, hands flying through seals that would trap Naruto within a barrier.

"_Your Mokuton will suppress it but you have to hurry."_ The clone's frantic words from earlier rushed through Hashirama's mind and he cringed. If stopping whatever this was relied on his Mokuton, then they were in trouble because he was still struggling to get the perfect ratio. Then again, what other time was there if not this one to get it right?

He didn't have any jutsu in mind because he hadn't gotten that far. He ignored that fact and sprang forwards, ignoring Tobirama's yell of protest. He focused his chakra, forcing two different types of chakra to move to each hand. Skidding to a halt just in front of Naruto, Hashirama slammed his palms together, blending earth and water together so that four pillars of wood sprouted from the ground.

Hashirama focused his attention on the pillars as Naruto snarled at him and sprang away from them. It became a game of cat and mouse, Naruto staying just out of reach and Hashirama increasing the amount of pillars he had shooting after the blond.

Hashirama's control over the pillars wasn't nearly as great as Naruto's flexibility. Hell but that teen could bend his body in ways that shouldn't have even been possible. Naruto turned to the Mokuton user with a snarl before rushing straight for Hashirama, faster than what he could react to.

The Senju was completely unprepared for the burning mass of chakra that slammed into him before Naruto was close enough to even think about touching him. Looking up from where he had landed, Hashirama saw a chakra hand construct recede back towards Naruto. That could get troublesome.

But then the barrier the Uzumaki had been trying to erect flickered into existence, surrounding the rampant teen. Naruto slammed his body against the barrier, but it didn't yield to his violent attacks.

"What the hell is that?" Hashirama demanded from the nearest Uzumaki.

"We're not sure, but it appears that the chakra that sometimes leaks into Naruto-kun's pathways has taken over. It's not natural, whatever this chakra is."

Hashirama frowned before turning his attention back to the barrier. Naruto's condition seemed to be getting worse, the chakra around him growing more potent. Taking a chance he focused his chakra again, trying to will the wooden pillars to grow faster. He didn't have time for them to be any slower because Naruto was too fast.

He managed to snag Naruto's ankle, his pillars able to grow from that single point till the wood completely covered Naruto aside from his head. Angry hisses and snarls erupted from Naruto as the chakra began to fade, slowly sinking into Naruto's body.

Hashirama didn't know why, but he was able to supress whatever this was, and for some reason, Naruto had known this. What had happened and what was Naruto not telling them?

.0.0.0.

**All will be explained in the next chapter. Meh, hopefully. **


End file.
